Faith No More
by Pyeknu
Summary: Sequel to Sailor Twins. The Senshi find themselves confronting a foe willing to destroy their faith in themselves as Usagi moves to break beyond the barriers being the resurrected Princess Serenity impose on her!
1. Part 1 - The Paths We Must Choose

Somewhere in Eternity...  
  
Sparking green eyes flutter open as the woman takes in a deep breath of clean prairie air. Rising to peek over the knee-high grass and wild wheat, she blinks. Rolling countryside and beautiful meadows stretched as far as the eye could see. Dotting the landscape were countless herds of beautiful Shetland ponies, each with a very young rider, none older than the onset of puberty.  
  
In the midst of this sea of innocence rode a rugged cowboy in a glittering shirt and jeans with leather boots, a ten-gallon hat obscuring his face in shadow, his mount a healthy Arabian stallion. Standing, the woman smiles, sensing the cowboy's eyes fall on her.  
  
A touch of the brim in greeting. "You've not visited me for some time, Naru."  
  
"Much has changed in my life, Oji-sama," Naru returns, then silently wills her transformation into Sailor Terra.  
  
"Very becoming of you, Naru, considering who your friend is," he nods appreciatively.  
  
"Arigato," she smiles. When she learned Usagi's secret, she feared that the Pony Man would come take her innocence away, bring it to this place where childhood was forever safe. He didn't, which gave Naru a greater sense of self-assurance, confidence that her drive to become the tenth Sailor Senshi was the right course.  
  
With that, the cowboy turns to tend his endless flock. Naru turns, her eyes locked on a small group of nine children riding ponies, probably heading off to the pirate ship for a treasure hunt. Their faces were splattered with candied apples; they were no doubt stealing snacks from their mounds' supply. No different from the other children here...save their faces.  
  
"A premonition?" she wonders...  
  
* * *  
  
...before she finds herself in her seat on the train passing through the mountains of south Hokkaido, heading for Sapporo. "Oh," Naru breathes out, then turns to see Setsuna gaping slack-jawed at her. "What is it?"  
  
"You..." the time guardian shakes her head in disbelief, then stares at her. "You...can contact *him?!*"  
  
"Hai."  
  
"How long has this been going on?!"  
  
Naru tenses. "Since when was that your business?" she sniffs, then slyly smiles. "Or are you upset that you never knew this about me. That the great Setsuna Meiou can make a mistake?!"  
  
Setsuna's cheeks flame at Naru's barb. Since she became part of the Senshi, Naru had become as McCoy-obsessed with penetrating the time guardian's passionless veil to unleash the very human being that lurked underneath. It annoyed Setsuna to no end; why couldn't people leave her alone?! Yuki had been doing it since they first met over a century before. No doubt, Ayako would make an effort of it in her own obnoxious way before long.  
  
"Just because I'm a guardian of Time doesn't mean that I know everything," she states, her mask returning.  
  
"Sure you do," Naru smirks...  
  
* * *  
  
"Faith No More"  
a tale of the Sailor Senshi  
by Fred Herriot  
fherriot@yahoo.com  
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Edited by E.B. Kushnir  
kush1@iaw.on.ca  
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Based on "Sailor Moon," created by Naoko Takeuchi  
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WRITER'S NOTES  
  
1) This story is set several months after "Sailor Twins." For you Greenbeans fans, this would be around the time of "College Life," after Part Fifteen and the small vignette story I recently wrote for her. By now, the Inner Senshi and the younger Twins are in their freshman year of university.  
  
2) Beans was created by the aforementioned Miss Greenbeans. Chigaiko Inu appeared in my UY-TSY story "Darling's Secret Date" and was reborn as an Avalonian in "Children of Eternity." Negako Moroboshi is the conscience of the *saikoo jinseijitsu* (first appearing in "Spirit-War Tomobiki") given her own life at the same time as Chigaiko became an Avalonian. In TSY continuity, this story occurs after "Shinobu: Warrior Princess of Kyotos."  
  
3) This story is a partial carry-on of the Sailor Stars segment of the TV series. Big thanks to Hitoshi Doi and his Sailor Moon website (www.tcp.com/doi/smoon) which had synopses of almost all the SM-Sailor Stars stories since I can see the shows here in Korea but can't understand what's really going on.  
  
4) I decided that for the ex-Anima Mates appearing in this story to give them new names since I don't like their old ones; I doubt their home planets are actually named Iron Mouse, Aluminum Siren, Lead Crow and Tin Nyanko. For Chuuko and Akane, their names are a transliteration of their old names. Reiko, since "siren" has no kanji equivalent, got "mysterious" (kai) "beautiful" (bi) "woman" (jou) added to "silver" (gin). I decided that "Nyanko" would be Sailor Shakubyou's real name, with Sesu her family name (it's one way of saying "tin"). Her fighting name literally means "tin cat." Wanderers are orphaned Nendo-kata bards who were sent away by their schools prior to their destruction to pass on their stories.  
  
5) I didn't have a chance to properly introduce all the Sailor Senshi Life Sentinels in this story; future stories will elaborate on them. Suffice to say, they take their names from all nine of the Muses of Greek myth (Polyhymnia [Akira], Euterpe [Rurika], Erato [Manami], Terspichore [Wakana], Urania [Asuka], Melpomene [Miyuki], Clio [Yuu], Calliope [Chie] and Thalia [Taeko]), one of the Fates (Clotho [Honoka]) and two of the Graces (Aglaia [Emiru] and Euphrosyne [Kaho]). The names are inspired by the characters of "Sentimental Graffiti." Thanks also to the following websites for the information to inspire the Senshi Life Sentinels:  
  
Astrology for Beginners (www.angelfire.com/ar/lv2tz)  
Siren's Greek Mythology (www.geocities.com/Yosemite/7371)  
AstroLife Zodiac Signs (www.astrofire.com/signs.html)  
  
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And with that...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!  
  
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PART ONE - THE PATHS WE MUST CHOOSE  
  
Tetsuzo.  
  
Bleak, tired eyes, reddened from seemingly endless weeping, gaze hopelessly at the panorama of destruction before her. Just ten years ago, this small world in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy had boasted a dynamic civilization on the cusp of breaking out into space. Ten years ago...was it only that long? Her mad torture, the Sailor Wars, becoming an Anima Mate, searching for the star seeds while her soul deep down screamed at serving evil. The pleas for clemency, the bliss of final death...and the startled cry of rebirth. The Crossing Over. Now...now this.  
  
It was enough to make one ask if the Mother Ocean had turned Her Back on Her children of the Universal School.  
  
With a resigned sigh, the Wanderer trudges into the sea of devastation. Smoke emanating from fires that may have burned for days, weeks perhaps. This had been the capital city of Tetsuzo, a bustling metropolis of twenty million sentients with all the things an advanced civilization could offer. Looking around, she then realizes she had come into the red light district, the place she herself had haunted before the day she discovered her Gift, became Tetsuzo's guardian of love and justice.  
  
The Gift that became a nightmare in the Sailor Wars.  
  
One that took her away when her people needed her the most.  
  
No, can't think of that now. The Unity always forced Her great warriors into constant trials. The greatest of them all being that no matter what, disUnity could always triumph if circumstances were right. And those circumstances came true for Tetsuzo. Since she came, she had sensed no survivors anywhere...  
  
Wait!  
  
Eyes glow deep burgundy, the colour of Nendo-kata blood, as the Wanderer detects the faint mental cries of children. Turning, her feet propel her into action as she runs to a collapsed cottage, several walls having covered the basement though air could still get in. Summoning her powers, she rips off the masonry and gazes in, her eyes reverting to normal.  
  
Six. Three girls, three boys, fraternal twins, same family. The oldest was eight summers, youngest four. Scraps of clothing barely protect them from the cleansing wind and the biting cold. Malnourished, dehydrated...yet still clinging on. They blink as light pours in, then squint at the figure before them, daring not to speak yet consumed with curiosity and fear.  
  
"I am Sailor Tetsuzo," the pretty warrior declares.  
  
Confusion responds, then the children smile, hope flaring as bright as novas in their hearts. Innocent of what destroyed their world and families, innocent of their surroundings, yet they knew of their planet's protector...and she had come to save them.  
  
That's all that mattered now...  
  
* * *  
  
A week later...  
  
"You have a problem," Ataru muses, putting his tea cup down.  
  
Usagi nods. For the Senshi, the time after Kughra had been very peaceful; scarcely a daemon had appeared. Haruka and Michiru had flown to America to continue their studies, making a new friend along the way. Everyone else settled into routines of jobs and university, which for Usagi, Nona, Chooko and Naru meant Sapporo University. Usagi was studying politics; learning how governments worked (did they work?...F.H.) was a major requisite before she could become queen of Crystal Tokyo. For the man sitting across from her, he had got a crash course in governing a whole planet over the last year...and had paid a heart-wrenching price for it.  
  
"This peace can't last," Usagi sighs. "Sooner or later, something is going to happen. I can feel it. Haruka and Michiru had a bump-in with a lake god at the college they're attending, but that was easily solved by their friend. But something seems to bring trouble to me like it does you at times...and this time, I really want to be prepared for it."  
  
"How so?" Ataru sighs.  
  
"When we normally deal with daemons or monsters, the others do all the fighting, then I polish them off with the Crystal. That's not fair to them at all; there've been times when they've nearly died protecting me. At times, it feels like they still see me as Princess Serenity, despite everything I've said on that subject. So...I need help to become a better fighter."  
  
Ataru bites his lips. He had been lucky when he finally put his foot down to get everyone out of his and Lum's lives; they were obnoxious, fanatics of the first order, but still relatively human. Usagi hadn't fought a normal foe in five years and more. "How do you want to be a better fighter? Do you want martial arts skills or to learn how better to use your powers?"  
  
"Both," Usagi sighs. "I once had a tiara; I could use it as a throwing or cutting weapon. But when daemons showed that they could just snatch it out of the air, I fell out of the habit of using it. In my current form, I don't even have a tiara anymore. When we were fighting Kughra, Ayako-chan nailed me with her Mirror Shock...and I wound up with bruised knuckles for two weeks, even when I was normal. You Sagussans are tough, you know that?!"  
  
Ataru chuckles as he pours more tea. Learning of Kughra had sent chills down his spine; anyone who wanted THAT level of power was scarier than a berserk superdreadnought with an insane master computer. And Usagi had nearly taken her down single-handedly, with just a little emotional boost from Ayako. "I see your point," he muses. "You know, if it was physical training, I'd point you to my cousin Ranma Saotome in Furinkan. He's about the best in that department as one can get. But since you obviously want some energy attacks like Nona has, then my sister has to help."  
  
"Nokoko?"  
  
"No, Negako. Avalonian, like Atako-chan. You don't know her. When they extracted the *saikoo jinseijitsu's* personality from me in August, my doctors found they couldn't morally end its existence since it was a sentient being, so they had a new body prepared for her. Since then, she's been on a training trip with a former classmate of mine, Chigaiko Inu. I'll get my clan's people to find them and get them to Sapporo; we've got some tracts of wooded land between there and Chitose that'd be perfect for training."  
  
"Thanks, I appreciate it," Usagi grins. "By the way, what do you call your particular Art?"  
  
"Moroboshi-Hana Saikoo Jinseijitsu Ninjitsu-ryuu," Ataru hums, then gazes at her. "Have you told anyone that you're doing this?"  
  
"Naru-chan and Nona-chan."  
  
"What do they think about it?"  
  
"They're all for it," Usagi smiles. "In fact, if Negako is coming, Naru-chan could use some touch up training herself."  
  
"That's good. What about the others?"  
  
"Well, you know how Nendo-kata are," Usagi laughs. "Once Nona-chan knows, they all know. I'm sure they'll support it."  
  
"And the other Senshi? Mamoru?"  
  
"Haven't told them yet," Usagi shakes her head, then smiles. "Actually, I'd like to make it a bit of a surprise."  
  
"Be careful with that sort of surprise, Usagi," Ataru bites his lips. "Look, you just said that the Senshi still at times treat you like Princess Serenity, right? If they're doing that, that means that deep down, they've psychologically fixed their vision of you AS Princess Serenity."  
  
"I've told them that I don't see myself as that..."  
  
"Hey, look what happened to me," he points to himself. "When I changed, I believed in my heart that my every thought and deed from then on would automatically tell people that I wasn't a sex-crazed moron. And yet, even now, almost everyone in Tomobiki still sees me that way, doesn't want to think of me any other way. It takes a lot to change people's opinions, Usagi-chan, especially those closest to you. And if you do it suddenly, without warning, it hurts. I almost lost Lum-chan when I moved here to Oshika. Please, be careful. Let the others know and give them time to adjust. If you don't, then this'll blow up in your face."  
  
Usagi nods...  
  
* * *  
  
"Asleep at last."  
  
Sailor Enko exhales as the six young children doze off, then she draws the covers over them, giving each a good-night kiss on their foreheads. "Sleep tight," she whispers, then heads out of the cabin of their rundown freighter to the bridge.  
  
"All asleep?" Ginkaibijou hums.  
  
"Hai," Enko sinks into the navigator's chair, then gazes absently at the readouts. "It's a miracle they survived alone for so long without anyone helping them."  
  
"They were very lucky," Ginkaibijou sighs, reaching out to grasp her rival-turned-heart mate's hand. "The Unity protected them for us to find. Even with the disUnity that overcame our people, the Mother Ocean wouldn't allow our races to totally disappear into the Cosmic Chain of Life."  
  
They exchange an understanding look. If the Sailor Wars and their time as Anima Mates hadn't taken them away from Ginkai and Enko, the chances might have been there that their worlds wouldn't be smouldering cinders now. The stench of the sub-creatures who voraciously ravaged their worlds was overwhelming, the trail leading them in the general direction of the galactic spiral containing Earth. Even though they were now weighed with the responsibility of raising six orphans, the last of their Great Schools, someone had to get the word about this.  
  
And if Earth was in the path of this plague of ravenous evil, then the nine brave warriors who had fought Galaxia to a standstill would likely be involved. If Fate directed them that way, it would be a chance to mend fences, make new friends...and obtain help in caring for the little ones aft. Ginkaibijou and Enko knew they weren't prepared to deal with being mothers, though they'd never consider turning away from their duty. Both were young as Senshi and as Nendo-kata; their Wanderer halves were not even a quarter-life old when they were separated from their schools.  
  
A tender kiss later, Enko gazes at her readout. "Our course should take us close to Tetsuzo. Hey, that's Nezu's homeworld! Do you think she might've Crossed Over too, Aya?"  
  
Ginkaibijou sits back in her chair. "Chances were as good for Nezu as they were for us," she shrugs, then gazes at the stars ahead of them. "Let's check it out, anyway. Something tells me that whoever ravaged our planets might've gone there, too."  
  
Blinking, Enko nods. "Yes. No matter what happened when we were Anima Mates, we owe Nezu that."  
  
* * *  
  
"You seem so lonely."  
  
Galaxia gazes on the shapely woman standing before her. Not ill-formed in any sense of the term, the chestnut-haired woman was dressed in a black ankle-length strapless dress, the cut dipping down to her navel and showing all the cleavage in the world. Your normal humanoid, the Golden Senshi's visitor's only odd feature was the black triangle tattoos on her forehead and under her eyes, points down. "Who are you?"  
  
"My name's Kokoro," she smiles, the mirth not touching her deep black eyes. "You're Galaxia, right? The Golden Senshi?"  
  
"I was," Galaxia gazes at the endless sea before her. "Not anymore. Not after what I did."  
  
She gazes nowhere in particular, tears spilling down her cheeks. She had chosen this nameless world light-years away from the civilized parts of the galaxy as a place of refuge, a place of exile. After coming to grips with the horror she nearly unleashed on the billions of sentients she had tried to save by absorbing Chaos at the end of the Sailor Wars, Galaxia knew she had to atone. Being a warrior, a defender, was a great act of trust, to the people she vows to protect...and to herself. What trust could there be if even a valiant act to stop Chaos caused so much pain?  
  
"What you did was make a mistake," Kokoro sits beside her, smiling assuredly. "All people, even Sailor Senshi, make them."  
  
"But not the level of mistake I made," Galaxia shakes her head, then turns to her visitor. "Why are you here?"  
  
"Your faith is gone," Kokoro stares deep into her eyes, a sparkle in those ebony orbs drawing Galaxia's attention, sapping her concentration from all around them. "Your faith in yourself, your mission...it's gone. I've met many people in my time who've faced this point in their lives. I've helped people. I work for someone who's always helped people deal with a loss of faith. He knows of what happened to you, Galaxia. He wants to help you."  
  
"H-he does...?" Galaxia blinks, unable to turn away from the woman before her.  
  
"Yes, he does," Kokoro nods. "I'll take you to him now."  
  
The Golden Senshi nods...  
  
* * *  
  
"We're approaching Tetsuzo, Aya."  
  
Ginkaibijou nods as the ashen disk looms before them. The children were now awake, playing in their makeshift den in what was once the captain's quarters. "So, they came here, too."  
  
"Aye, they did...eh?!" Enko's eyes glow.  
  
The other Wanderer-Senshi's eyes also glow as a mental voice, calm as a flowing tide, washes over them. Sisters...it happened to you, too?! a delighted voice gasps from below them.  
  
"Nezu!!!" Ginkaibijou gasps. "Are you alright?!"  
  
Not really, Sailor Tetsuzo sighs, bitter sadness in her voice. I see that what took my Great School into the Black Ocean also struck at your Great Schools too.  
  
The two concentrate, then exchange wary looks. "It did," Enko's voice is ashes. "We're going to Earth, Nezu. Whatever this is, it's going there. Do you and your little ones...?"  
  
Yes, Tetsuzo replies. I can't support my little ones here. Earth would be much better for them. And...if the sub-creatures who did this are going there, Sailor Moon and her friends will have to be warned.  
  
"Alright," Enko nods. "We'll bring our ship in to pick you up. See you in a few minutes."  
  
* * *  
  
Chitose.  
  
Sailor Moon, champion of love and justice, defender of Earth, inheritor of the power of the Silver Millennium and possible future queen of Crystal Tokyo, stands alone in the middle of the small dojo in the middle of the vast, wooded property north of the small city near Sapporo. At one side stand Sailor Terra, Sailor Diana and Sailor Chronos, but they wouldn't come forth to stand with her. The other Senshi were nowhere close by, two of them now all the way in the United States. For this day, Sailor Moon was facing the most terrifying, implacable foe she'd ever encounter.  
  
Her new martial arts teacher.  
  
Gazing intently at the pretty warrior was a well-exercised chestnut-haired woman in a black gi, nineteen by looks though she was well into her eighth century of life...if you could call being a disembodied storehouse of knowledge "life"...and her body was not even ten months old. The tiger-and-chrysanthemum of the Moroboshi Clan was stitched on the jersey, a black belt without any markings tying it down. She had been circling Sailor Moon for some time, taking in all the details of her uniform.  
  
Finally, she stops, feeling the wings. "These will go."  
  
Beside Sailor Diana was a plain brown-haired girl in a black gi, a white belt around her waist. She jots notes down in a book as her companion begins her pacing. "The high heels, too. You cannot run in them. Solid soles to the boots from now on. And your hair needs to be changed."  
  
"But I've always had my hair this way," Moon warns.  
  
WHAM!!!! The Senshi's leader finds herself flipped onto her face after being yanked back by one of her ponytails. "If you insist on that, then be warned: THAT will happen to you," the woman sighs, not showing any exertion from her attack.  
  
"Hai...Sensei..." Moon grunts.  
  
"Do not call me that," the woman sighs as the pretty warrior picks herself up. "There is no such thing as 'sensei' in our Art. Even I must learn many things, especially now. My name is Negako. Use that instead."  
  
"Hai, Negako," Moon sighs, rubbing her face.  
  
Negako stops, her hands feeling the feathers at the base of Moon's gauntlets. "These could be turned into darts, similar to what Nona employs," she hums, then feels the crescent on her wrist. "And you could fashion shuriken or psychic shuriken from these."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
THWACK!!!! An energy shuriken imbeds itself in the wall between Terra and Chronos, then dissipates. "I mean that," Negako lightly smiles. "All you have to learn is how to better manipulate your chi, Usagi. That is the secret of your powers; all of you," she looks at the other Senshi. "All your henshin sticks do is give you the ability to use your chi in new ways. As you know from your dealing with Kughra, all things in the Universe had energy. Chi, *te'a,* whatever it is, it's still energy. My Art helps one tap into energy and use it. Though it concentrates on the natural chi forces here on Earth itself, the forms I will teach you will aid you no matter what sort of energy you're dealing with."  
  
"That's what I want," Moon nods.  
  
"The Crystal," Negako holds out her hand.  
  
The Silver Imperium Crystal staff appears. Taking it, the ninjitsu grandmistress gazes intently at the staff. "I will ask Nicole to rebuild the staff into a scabbard for a sword," Negako hums. "The Crystal is too fragile to be used as a mace. You will be taught swordsmanship. The sword I will have forged for you will have the same abilities the Crystal itself does. A sword thrust works much better than using this as a magic wand."  
  
She hands the Crystal back, then Moon stores it. "The final thing I will do for you is to alter your very way of thinking when it comes to dealing with your type of opponent," Negako gazes into her eyes. "I know well, through my brother and Chigaiko, how you and the other Senshi normally deal with monsters. What I teach you in the Art can't work without a change in attitude. You acted as if it was a samurai drama. You've taken a lifelong oath to protect innocent lives and you cannot fulfil that oath when you're too busy making speeches and waving the Crystal around. You must agree now that the chance will come that someone could die, yes?"  
  
"Hai," Moon nods, transforming back into Usagi.  
  
With that, the others relax. "Then you will learn how to think like a ninja," Negako sighs. "You will learn how to select your targets, which are the important targets and how to take them down as fast as possible. You are the leader of a team of twenty. Even with just a small group, it's very easy to deal with monsters and those who control them. You'll learn how. Understood?"  
  
"Hai!"  
  
"Then we begin tomorrow."  
  
* * *  
  
"Ye want a sword for Usagi's staff?!"  
  
Nicole blinks confusedly at Negako, the latter now holding the Crystal; she had taken it from Usagi before sending her student back to her dormitory the night after the pre-training briefing. "Yes," she hands the staff to the Scotswoman. "I don't want the staff changed to make people realize a sword is there. Can you make a crusader blade with no handguards to fit into the base?"  
  
"A surprise weapon, eh?" Nicole hums. "Yeah, it's easy. What else do you need?"  
  
Usagi's transformation broach is handed over. "I need her uniform changed," Negako pulls out a drawing, then points out the details. "These modifications to the belt, boots, gauntlets and the ties on the back."  
  
"Simple enough," Nicole nods. "Anything else?"  
  
"One other thing," Negako crosses her arms. "I've been told by Nona that there was one time, during the Senshi's fight with Galaxia, that Haruka and Michiru were made to turn against her. And there've been times Usagi's lover has been turned against her. Could you have her sword made so that with one thrust, she could de-power any Senshi she comes close to...just in case?"  
  
"Consider it done," Nicole hums...  
  
* * *  
  
The next day, training begins. After classes are over, Usagi, Nona, Naru and Chooko race to their dorms, grab their gis and take the train to Chitose to learn under Negako's stern tutelage. Like Chigaiko, who joins them in training, all wear white belts. There were two grades in Saikoo Jinseijitsu Ninjitsu-ryuu; you KNEW the forms or you DIDN'T, Negako had explained their first night.  
  
Reflecting the painful maturity that had overcome her, Usagi plunges into her training with a zeal she once reserved for playing video games, reading a comic book or cleaning out the refrigerator back home. Despite her harsh demeanour, Negako was a very patient instructor, explaining everything. She often did a "demonstration" of what might happen if movements were executed wrong, pitching the hapless Usagi around like a beanbag at times, but the flips and punches were always made to shock, not to hurt. And they were shocking enough that Usagi got the message.  
  
The other three Senshi benefitted from Negako's knowledge. Naru, because her powers as Sailor Terra were fashioned after the *saikoo jinseijitsu,* wanted to be taught how to better interface her soul with Earth, seek out the natural chi lines to use her powers efficiently, sense the life pulse of her world to better defend it. Nona and Chooko were taught meditation exercises, how to relax so they could manipulate their powers both as Senshi and Nendo-kata better. Of course, all participated in the basic kata drills; the punches, kicks, blocks and other contortions that would come in handy no matter what sort of foe they faced.  
  
Because Negako was such a thorough teacher, the lessons took hold right away. During their times at the dojo, they took a break to discuss strategies in dealing with daemons. If the daemon was alone, the matter was easy; swarm it and take it down fast. If the daemon was something to distract the Senshi from another being, then it became a little more complicated. Since most likely, the other being was the controller for a daemon, then destroying that being was the most efficient way to deal with it.  
  
This would've worked very well against the Black Moon Clan and the Anima Mates since they always tripped off to warn their leaders while the Senshi were distracted by monsters. In war, intelligence was the primary element in achieving victory. Killing the Anima Mates right away, for example, would've forced Galaxia to attack sooner, perhaps without the right knowledge to deal with the Senshi and brought an earlier conclusion to the whole mess. Same with the Black Moon Clan; in fact, Sailor Moon had practiced it when she cleansed the four sisters and forced Rubius to come into the open.  
  
"Where were you when we needed you years ago, Teach?" Usagi wonders one night after a strategy lesson.  
  
"I was busy trying to get MY freedom," Negako smiles.  
  
Everyone laughs...  
  
* * *  
  
"Here you go," Negako presents Usagi with her broach.  
  
"Thanks," she smiles, placing the broach on its usual place on her chest, then stands. "MOON ETERNAL POWER, MAKE UP!!!!"  
  
Energy warps around her in a cocoon as her clothes melt into her Senshi fuku. Bolts of energy dance over her belt and up her arms as the new add-ons appear, then as everything solidifies, Sailor Moon merges into a kata stance, one arm raised to show a row of throwing crescents lining her gauntlet, the other reaching to the throwing darts around her broach. "Excellent," Negako nods as she inspects the stance. "Good stance. If the daemon's the type who wants to attack right away, you're prepared. Now..."  
  
She walks over to a bag to bring out the Crystal staff, then hands it to the pretty warrior. The others gather around as Moon grips the thickened staff/scabbard. "The sword is magnetically sealed into the scabbard so that if your holding it vertically, it won't fall out," Negako waves the others back. "Unsheathe it."  
  
Still in her stance, Moon draws the Crystal back, hand reaching over to draw the sword, the staff returning to its storage place in hyperspace as she gazes at the blade. As long as her arm, it is a straight sword, not curved like a katana. Perfect most of all for the quick thrust through the heart. On the haft, a row of golden crescents add colour to the silver blade. "This is nice!" Moon whistles. "Nicole sure does a good job."  
  
"I'll say," Naru hums from nearby. "So what will you call it, Usagi-chan? Something like that deserves a name."  
  
Sailor Moon hums, then nods. "The Moon Lancer!"  
  
* * *  
  
"Martial arts training?!"  
  
Usagi nods as her mother serves coffee, the Tsukino family and their houseguests relaxing around the table one weekend morning several weeks into the first term; Kyooko and Midori had moved to their own apartment after Kughra died. "Yep. It's intensive, but it's good. I feel much better about myself already."  
  
"You, a martial artist?!" Shingo hums, shaking his head. "Sure! Pull the other leg, sis!!"  
  
"Fine," Usagi reaches over.  
  
WHAM!!!! Shingo is impaled into the floor after a flip using his ankle. Usagi returns to her breakfast. "Shingo, it's not nice saying bad things about your sister," Ikuko sighs.  
  
"Yes, Mom..." he grunts.  
  
Nona and Chooko chuckle. Usagi's father Kenji shakes his head as Shingo crawls back into his chair. "Your teacher's a good one," Ikuko muses, then sighs. "So strange. I never figured you to be one to take martial arts, Usagi-chan; you're not the type."  
  
"Girl's gotta protect herself, Mom," Usagi shrugs.  
  
"Too true," Ikuko rolls her eyes.  
  
Sometime later, Usagi enters her bedroom as everyone disperses for the day. Luna relaxes on the bed as the Senshi leader engages in a meditation kata. "I must admit, I'm more than impressed by seeing you do this, Usagi," the raven-haired cat smiles. "What sort of school are you training under?"  
  
"Ninjitsu; it's the same school Ataru Moroboshi practices," Usagi relaxes, then sits on the bed, drawing Luna into her lap. "His sister Negako teaches me. It's great to be able to do some of this stuff now. You know, if I'd know this a long time ago, things would've gone a lot easier with some of the creeps we've fought."  
  
"My, you are getting confident," Luna hums, then gazes at her. "Do the others know what you're doing?"  
  
"The Twins and Naru-chan know," Usagi sighs. "I haven't had the chance to tell the others just yet. Besides, things've been pretty quiet over the last bit."  
  
"Oh, you haven't heard the news?"  
  
"What news?" Usagi rolls her eyes. "I've been so busy training, I haven't got close to a newspaper, listened to the radio or seen a television. What's going on?"  
  
Luna hops onto the study table to face her. "Well, this started the second week you were in university. Michiru called, telling us that she sensed a horrendous evil coming towards us. The day after, a riot broke out in Rome at the Vatican."  
  
Usagi's eyes widen in shock. "The Vatican?! Was it another assassination attempt on the Pope?!"  
  
"No, not that," Luna shakes her head. "The details were quite obscure even over the news, but from what we learned, it was a vicious riot that saw dozens killed. Witnesses said that something happened that made people believe that Jesus Christ had come back to life, not to save them but to KILL them!! Now, the Catholic Church has cancelled future Masses in St. Peter's Square."  
  
Usagi drops. "Wait! They actually thought that Jesus...?!"  
  
"It was later reported to be some sort of imposter, but it was a very clever and convincing one," Luna sighs. "But that's not all. The next day, during the hajj in Mecca, people reported that Mohammed had come back to life, denouncing the many imams as being false to the Koran! It caused a riot that killed hundreds!!"  
  
"MECCA?!?! Gods, Islamic fundamentalists must be going ape!!"  
  
"Jerusalem was the next place struck," Luna sighs. "Then came Moscow, Istanbul, Canterbury, Salt Lake City..."  
  
"Wait!" Usagi blinks, her eyes widening. "All those places are centres of religious faith!! You mean..."  
  
"This foe is attacking people through their personal beliefs and faith," Luna nods. "Those're not the only places that've been struck, Usagi. Places of great social and cultural significance have been struck. Did you know that the Statue of Liberty in New York City actually did a strip-tease in front of thousands?!"  
  
Usagi faints! "STRIP-TEASE?!?! This is a joke, right?!!"  
  
Luna shakes her head. "Some people would think that was some tasteless joke. It wasn't, none of this is. It's far deeper, much more sinister."  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"When migrants crossed the Atlantic to New York City, the first image they saw was the Statue of Liberty holding the light of freedom high. That's a powerful cultural icon to Americans, Usagi, one that has endured a lot. Now it has been tarnished, brought into question. It may seem like a joke at first, but deep down, people will wonder if it really meant anything? And when they start questioning that, they'll question other things."  
  
Usagi nods. "When one questions faith, one loses it."  
  
"Yes," Luna nods. "And one loses faith, one loses one of the pillars that keeps society intact. In fact, in many ways, faith is a foundation for society. Sweep it away and..."  
  
"Chaos," Usagi shudders, the dark implications of what Luna's scenario was pointing to draping her heart like an icy shroud. "Lawlessness. War. Armageddon. Death."  
  
"Yes," Luna nods. "This 'faithless plague,' as many are now calling it, has claimed several thousand lives already. It hasn't hit Japan just yet, but be assured, it will come here. And when it does, we will have to be ready."  
  
"I'm more than ready," Usagi nods, gazing out the window...  
  
* * *  
  
"You have done well, Zentsubou."  
  
"Thank you, Reverend," a tall woman with long black hair in a stringy ponytail similar to Makoto's bows to her leader. "The Americans don't suspect what's happening; their government's innate trust in their citizens blinds them to the questions many are now asking in their hearts."  
  
"So I can feel," the handsome man in his dark suit standing at his pulpit nods, gazing at the twenty-four Shingi Maidens who were his claws whenever he chose to bring Chaos to a world. The women before him seemed very happy. Their previous conquest, Tetsuzo, had been too easy. Earth, with its varying levels of technology, society and faith, would give the Maidens a challenge. "Now, we come to Japan. Thanks to Kokoro and the information we gleaned from Galaxia, we've been told of the beings we could expect in their capital. I wish to see these Sailor Senshi in action."  
  
The Maidens grin in anticipation. Kokoro steps up, bowing to her leader. "Reverend, may I go first? We all know where the Senshi gather to discuss matters; one of them is a priestess. I've already looked over the shrine; it is well-suited for an attack."  
  
"Very well, Kokoro," the Reverend nods with a mirthless smile, waving her in dismissal. "Let them have a taste of what Chaos REALLY is, how fragile their lives really are!"  
  
Kokoro nods, then withdraws. "Now, Zentsubou," the Reverend descends, relaxing in a comfortable love chair nearby. "Why don't you show me what you made the Statue of Liberty do."  
  
"Of course, Reverend," Zentsubou purrs with anticipation as she begins to seductively sway, the other Maidens clapping in a metered beat. Giving her own personal service to the Reverend Fushingi was just as fulfilling as spreading Chaos for him...  
  
* * *  
  
"Do you hear some of this?!" Matsuri hums, switching off the television before sitting beside Ayako.  
  
"I do," the passion mistress nods, gazing out the living room window at the tranquil scene of Juuban. The eight ex-Black Moon monsters were spending time amongst themselves, kept indoors for their own safety. Only a fool would say that Japan was a haven from this faithless plague.  
  
The television had been showing man-on-the-street interviews from around the world. As many screamed at the galling blasphemy and grotesque tastelessness of what was happening, the two Nendo-kata sensed something more ominous. These attacks had badly shaken thousands of people, hit them in a place and time where they felt relatively safe. Worshipping in a temple, trying to touch their personal deity, was meant to be a time of peace and contemplation. A person's mental defensive mechanisms were down in those places, which made the attacks more effective.  
  
It was terrorism on a scale so vast and invasive, there was no way to protect oneself. Attendance at various places of worship had dropped to near-zero. Tourism was badly affected, people not taking the time to travel to favourite vacation spots. Even parks and playgrounds had been targeted, which hit children very hard. All these places had one thing in common, Matsuri knew. They were venues by which people could vent out the frustrations of everyday life. With those closed off, a person's negative emotions would build and expand until it would explode...and if that happened on a grand scale, who knows WHAT would happen next.  
  
"It will come here," Matsuri sighs.  
  
"Hai," Ayako hums, gently stroking her life-mate's hair. "What's worse, I don't think we can do anything to stop it."  
  
"Whatever happened to your confidence?" Matsuri gazes at her, a spark of worry in her eyes.  
  
"It's still there," Ayako winks. "But let's face it. This is something that has long-range effects. Even if we destroy the monsters now, who's going to be there to heal the scars when the battle is done and all that's left...are the memories?"  
  
Matsuri bites her lips, then nods...  
  
* * *  
  
"Look at them," Kokoro sneers as she watches people stream into Hikawa Jinja. "Praying to things that really aren't there. How trusting," disgust creeps into her voice as she slips back into shadow, masking herself with a normal face and a kimono before stepping out to join the procession.  
  
Coming up at that time from the former's home are Usagi and Naru, Nona and Chooko behind them. Apprehension flashes in their eyes as they ascend the steps. "You hear the news?" Naru wonders.  
  
"Yeah," Usagi nods. "Luna says we should be on guard...oh, there's Matsuri and Ayako! Hi!" she waves.  
  
"Hi, Usagi-chan, everyone," Matsuri smiles as the group head up to the shrine. "Feeling alright? How's training with Ataru-kun's sister and her friend?"  
  
"It's good," Usagi nods. "C'mon, let's go see Rei."  
  
They head inside. Already, the parishioners were seating themselves before the sacred flame as Rei did her devotions. As the other Senshi sit at the back of the hall, Usagi walks around to kneel beside the priestess. "Hey, how are you?" she places her hand on Rei's shoulder when the latter looked at her.  
  
"Pretty okay," Rei smiles. "People are scared. You hear?"  
  
"Luna told me when I came in," Usagi sighs. "I've been too busy to see the news. Is it really that bad?"  
  
"We've been getting an increase in people from other faiths," Rei nods to the audience. There were Christians and Hindus, even a scattering of Muslims making their daily prayers towards Mecca. "Grandpa's opened the door to them. Times like this, they need as much comfort as Shintoists and Buddhists."  
  
"Yeah," Usagi rises. "See you later."  
  
Rei watches her, noting that Usagi seemed to be walking as if she was on a tightrope. What the...? What ever happened to the happy-go-lucky klutz she had dealt with for five years? Suddenly, the word "busy" takes on a more serious connotation. What was Usagi doing on her spare time if she hadn't heard the news of the faithless plague until she came back to Juuban?  
  
Sighing, the priestess rises, turning to the small crowd before her. "Welcome, all of you," she smiles. "I'm Rei Hino, the priestess of Hikawa Jinja. On behalf of my grandfather, I offer you this time to call upon your personal deity and faith for the safety of all of us in this terrible time."  
  
"How nauseating," Kokoro sneers quietly as she forms an energy bubble with her hand, then fires it into the darkness.  
  
Rei jolts as her senses pick up danger...as the bolt emerges and flies into the sacred fire. "Wha...?!"  
  
"SISTER, BEHIND YOU!!!!!!" Matsuri bolts up, pointing.  
  
Rei turns in agonizing slow motion as the flames leap to the ceiling, morphing into a minotaur-like creature that dwarfs the slip of a girl before it. "**You dare bring these non-believers here, blasphemer?!**" its eyes glow as bolts of energy flash out to strike at the audience.  
  
Rei turns as people's screams assault her ears, watching some drop as a panic starts. Seeing this, the Senshi nod as they duck into shadow, henshin sticks appearing. In the middle of the chaos, Kokoro remains remarkably calm. "Time for some helpers to stoke the flames," she morphs into her natural form, then bellows, hands flying out, "Haishin, come forth!!!"  
  
Bolts of energy strike a half-dozen people, wrapping them up in black bands similar to how the Anima Mates transformed helpless bystanders into their helpers. The mummies explode a second later, revealing grotesque caricatures of the popular Shinto deities. "**Traitors, prepare for your doom!!**" a leering Susano raises his club, then the Haishin leap into action.  
  
The screams become deafening as energy lashes out to engulf the unlucky few who were still conscious and not transformed. Rei remains rooted in place, her senses overwhelmed by the sight of her favourite deities running amok, then turns back to gaze at the fire monster behind her, an ofuda appearing. Chanting the names of the elemental powers, she barks out, "EVIL SPIRIT, BEGONE!!!!!!"  
  
The ofuda explodes in her hands, causing Rei to collapse as she grips her wounded extremity!! "**You can't do that to me!**" the fire monster snarls. "**How could your faith work against the symbols of that faith, little girl?!**"  
  
Rei shuffles back as the monster marches on her...as the main doors to the shrine snap open. "Hold it!!!"  
  
Six sailor-suited figures appear. "Pardon us for interrupting your fun," Sailor Moon smiles.  
  
"But we heard that you that you were coming to hurt people today," Sailor Terra cracks her knuckles.  
  
"So we came down too," Sailor Diana twirls her javelin.  
  
"To teach you the new meaning of heartbreak," Sailor Aphrodite twirls the Truth Chain.  
  
"Oooh, eight on six," Sailor Ares hums.  
  
"Hardly fair odds...for them!" Sailor Chronos snickers.  
  
"Avatar's mine!!!" Moon barks. "GO!!!!"  
  
An Eclipse Veil descends as Diana and Moon fade from view, the other Senshi lunging at the Haishin. "**You think you're so strong?!**" the demon Susano cackles. "**Your strength is...!**"  
  
"***TIME REVERSAL!!!!!!***" Chronos levels the Time Reaper.  
  
A bolt of reverse-time nails the Haishin, dispersing the magic that morphed him and revealing a dazed parishioner, who is dropped. Simultaneously, the Truth Chain lashes out to snare two more Haishin as Aphrodite arms up. "***MIXED PASSION ATTACK!!!!!!***" she fires a storm of black and pink hearts to overwhelm the Haishin and reverse their transformations.  
  
"***SPIRIT-BREAKER FIRE LIGHT!!!!!!***" Terra levels a blast of chi energy at the fire monster behind Rei, who is knocked aside by Yuuichirou in time before the Haishin is pulverized by the psychic bolt and morphs back to a normal fire.  
  
"***FIRE PHALANX!!!!!!***" Ares sends a blazes of fire bolts at the remaining Haishin, driving them away from Kokoro, who is obviously trying to keep track of the sheer numbers of Senshi and determine their powers. "Take her down, Sailor Moon!!!"  
  
"My pleasure," a voice answers from shadow.  
  
"Wha...?" Kokoro turns...  
  
...and gets some sweet chin music as Moon lunges from the shadows, the Eclipse Veil disintegrating as Diana runs to help Ares deal with the last Haishin. "Nice day, huh!!" the Senshi leader spins like a top as the forest of crescents on her arms and belt glow. "***MOON CRESCENT STORM!!!!!!***"  
  
Kokoro is shredded as the blaze of energy bolts lashes through her, careening her into a wall as Moon stops spinning, leaping at her. "HYAAA!!!!!!" her boot catches the Shingi Maiden in the cheek, snapping her head around as she kisses the floor!!  
  
The Crystal appears, Moon snap-drawing the Lancer as she twirls the blade. As Kokoro rises, the Senshi leader crouches, then plunges it into the Maiden's back, the tip magically lancing through her cleavage!!! Kokoro gags as her eyes drop, shock and disbelief dulling her face as dark energy boils away from her. "Tell whoever sent you...he'll die this way, too!" Moon hisses in the Maiden's ear as she yanks out the Lancer.  
  
Kokoro collapses face-first to the floor as the remaining Haishin vanish, morphing back into the dazed innocents the Maiden targeted to help distract the Senshi. Rising, Moon sheathes the Lancer, then runs over to Rei. "Are you alright?!" she kneels, helping Yuuichirou get the priestess to her feet.  
  
"Y-y-yeah, I'm fine...help me to the flame..." Rei stammers.  
  
They escort her as the other Senshi begin to pick through the aftermath. Sensing what had happened, Ares turns to Rei's grandfather. "Please summon the police, the paramedics...and the coroner, Ojii-sama. Tell them...there are five dead, twelve wounded and...five needing psychological attention."  
  
He nods, heading to the phone. The word "dead" hits Rei like a torpedo as she turns, gazing at people who had come to HER shrine to pray, be at peace with themselves...and died for their devotion to their faith. "NO!!!!!!" she tries to scramble out of Moon's arms to vainly try to revive them. "NO!!!!!! THEY CAN'T BE DEAD!!!!!! THEY CAN'T!!!! They can't...!!"  
  
Sobs steal her voice as Rei slumps into Moon's comforting embrace. Moon gazes at Yuuichirou. "Help her to her bed."  
  
"Got it," he nods, then winks. "By the way, nice moves! Costume looks great, too!!"  
  
"Arigato," Moon smiles as the former rock singer helps his friend to her bedroom, then turns, her eyes detecting a slumped form at one side of the shrine. Kokoro. Blinking surprisedly, Moon walks over, kneeling down as she feels a pulse. "Hey, she's still alive?!" she wonders, then shifts the fallen Maiden to her knees, jolting on seeing a totally blank look on her face.  
  
"Yes, Mistress?" Kokoro stares at Moon.  
  
Moon blinks, then leans up. "Who are you?"  
  
"I am Kokoro, Mistress. I am your slave."  
  
Moon faints! "Does this beat all or what?" Aphrodite hums.  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	2. Part 2 - Stay or Walk Away

"No!!! Sister!!!"  
  
Yuuwaku screams as she slumps into the Reverend's embrace, the image of Sailor Moon sending her Moon Lancer into Kokoro's back replaying on the scrying glass before them. The other Maidens and Galaxia, now in her armoured form, gape at the sight of someone rumoured to be a kind-hearted woman...meat on the table to a Shingi Maiden...ruthlessly cutting Yuuwaku's sister down like a cockroach being squashed. "Yes, it is tragic, Yuuwaku," Fushingi pats the Maiden's light chestnut hair. "We would have had to expect trouble from the Sailor Senshi sooner or later. Don't worry, the time will come when Sailor Moon pays for your sister's loss. It will come."  
  
Yuuwaku blinks, then nods, glaring hotly at the woman in the scrying glass. "You will burn, Sailor Moon! You will burn!!"  
  
The others grimly nod. Nearby, Galaxia bites her lips. She hadn't expected Sailor Moon to be THAT vicious. Where had the other Senshi come from? It was almost as if the Senshi she fought had gained twins. And there was a Sailor Terra? Galaxia knew that Earth's proper defender was Tuxedo Kamen, so who was that girl?!  
  
* * *  
  
"Faith No More"  
a tale of the Sailor Senshi  
by Fred Herriot  
fherriot@yahoo.com  
**** **** ****  
Edited by E.B. Kushnir  
kush1@iaw.on.ca  
**** **** ****  
Based on "Sailor Moon," created by Naoko Takeuchi  
**** **** ****  
  
PART TWO - STAY OR WALK AWAY  
  
"Hard, isn't it?"  
  
Sailor Moon blinks as a paper cup of black coffee is handed to her. "Thanks," she nods, then stares at the police inspector now in charge of the crime scene. "You've seen this before?"  
  
"Nothing as vicious as this. We've been getting reports from other countries on how bad this has been there," Inspector Shigeru Tsuruoka sighs. "The one thing they can never really teach you at the police academy is how to deal with death. How to deal with the fact that you can't be everywhere at once, that you can't save everyone, stop every crime from happening."  
  
"It's sometimes as bad for us," Moon nods. "My sensei told me that there's nothing that can ever prepare you for this. This is the first time people've died in a fight we've been involved with."  
  
"True," Tsuruoka nods, then stares at her. "Still, you limited the damage. Shrines can be rebuilt, people can maintain their faith. Pity they can't restore lost lives."  
  
"Rule One of war," Moon grimaces. "People die. Rule Two: no one can change Rule One."  
  
The police inspector nods as Moon finishes her coffee, then joins the other Senshi as the last of the corpses is carried out of Hikawa Jinja. "Will they close the shrine?" Aphrodite wonders.  
  
"Maybe," Ares sighs. "They'll definitely have to rebuild it, make a memorial to those who fell here."  
  
"That'll be a real pain," Moon shakes her head. "Rei's life is devoted to her faith. What happens to her and her grandfather?"  
  
"Ojii-chan'll be fine," Ares muses. "He's seen too much to worry about it now. He knew this could've happened the instant these attacks began elsewhere. As for Rei-chan..."  
  
"She needs friends and family with her now," Aphrodite sighs. "She'll heal...in time."  
  
"Pity I can't accelerate healing," Chronos hums.  
  
* * *  
  
Inside the shrine, the recently arrived Sailor Gaia examines the unmoving Kokoro, Terra and Hades standing nearby with several police officers. "Can you tell what happened, ma'am?" one wonders as the healer draws her hand away from the Shingi Maiden's face.  
  
"It appears that when Sailor Moon struck her with the Moon Lancer, it severed all the controls between this being and whoever is masterminding these attacks," Gaia sighs, then straightens. "All I can conclude is that she's a biodroid."  
  
"Bio-wha...?" Terra blinks.  
  
"Similar to a bioroid such as your teacher, sister," Gaia explains. "But is never given free will, the ability to think and conceive of her own thoughts. A very useful puppet, nothing more."  
  
"Or maybe she's suffered her own loss of faith," Hades hums.  
  
"Possibly. I need to examine her more. Officer, could I take custody of her? I'll ensure she stays out of trouble."  
  
"Well, this is way beyond us, but I'll have to clear it with the Inspector," an officer sighs.  
  
"It's already cleared," a voice declares from outside.  
  
Tsuruoka walks up. "Thank you very much, Inspector," Hades nods. "With her in our sights all the time, we can try to control the flow of information to whoever used her to instigate this...IF he still has some links to her."  
  
"None I can sense right now, but it would be a very smart precaution," Gaia muses.  
  
"Alright, then," Tsuruoka waves the other officers away.  
  
Once alone, Gaia exhales. "Thanks, Uncle. We'll tell you what we can when we learn more."  
  
"My pleasure, Sakebu-chan," he kisses his niece's cheek, then gazes at Hades. "You watch over her, Yuki-san."  
  
"Always," Hades nods as he departs.  
  
A side door then opens to reveal an ashen-faced Rei. "You okay, Rei-chan?" Terra gazes at her.  
  
"Shaken up," Rei quietly admits, then stares at the unmoving Kokoro, who gazes straight ahead, no movement save the subtle rise and fall of her chest. "What are these things?"  
  
"We'll find out one way or another," Terra sighs. "You better get her to your house, Yuki-san."  
  
"Alright," the guardian of Eternity draws her Styx Staff and warps her, her life-mate and the Shingi Maiden away.  
  
Rei exhales, then blinks as Moon walks in. "Hey, where's the idiot that started this mess?"  
  
"Gone to Sakebu's; her uncle's allowed her to take custody," Terra reports, then thumps her friend's shoulder. "We did great!"  
  
"People died," Moon gazes resignedly at her. "I hardly call that 'great,' Naru-chan. You okay, Rei-chan?"  
  
"I'm fine...but what's with you?!" Rei blinks.  
  
"What?"  
  
"The uniform!" Rei points.  
  
"Oh!!" Moon nods, then smiles. "I just had some changes done to it," she shows the row of crescents on her gauntlets. "Whoever set this up never expected this. Nona-chan and I're working on a Moon Twin Energy Dart Attack for these," she taps the quills around her broach. "Didn't have the chance to use it here, but we might get the chance...unfortunately," she looks down.  
  
Rei stares at her, then holds out her hand. "The Crystal."  
  
"What about it," Moon places the staff in her friend's hand.  
  
Rei draws the Lancer. "Kindly explain this!"  
  
"Oh, that! Works great, huh?!"  
  
The priestess shakes her head, surprised at the nonchalance her fellow Senshi was showing. "I don't believe you!" she gasps. "When were you going to tell us about what you've done?!"  
  
"When we had a moment, but the dorks that started this came first!" Moon thumbs the pools of drying blood on the shrine's floor, then takes the Crystal and sheathes the Lancer before stowing it. "What's wrong?! We got rid of the monsters and even captured a prisoner! I'd say compared to the other times we fought daemons, even with people dying, we're getting somewhere!"  
  
Rei feels uncertainty gripping her heart. Yes, she did applaud Usagi trying to improve herself, to make herself a better person and thus a better queen for Crystal Tokyo. But by turning a sweet, wonderful person into a ruthless fighter? That wasn't what Sailor Moon was meant to be. She was the Princess, the one the Senshi fought to defend. If...if Sailor Moon could fight...and WIN...on her own...  
  
...what did that mean for the Senshi?  
  
"Hey!" Moon taps Rei's forehead. "Earth to Rei! Come in, Rei! You still there or did you hit the silk?!"  
  
The priestess sighs. "Sorry about that. I'll see you two later."  
  
She heads back to her room. "What's with her?" Terra blinks.  
  
"She's still pretty out of it, I guess," Moon shrugs. "C'mon, let's finish up and get out of here."  
  
Terra nods as they head outside. In her bedroom, Rei sits on her bed, hugging a stuffed bear as she gazes at the picture of the Senshi in their civilian guises, looking like a happy group of close friends. All of them surround Usagi, always ready to protect her even when there wasn't a threat. Were...were those days gone?  
  
Gone once and for all...?  
  
* * *  
  
"Well, well, well," Reverend Fushingi hums, gazing at the image of a morose Rei on her bed. "This is interesting."  
  
* * *  
  
Flashlights wink as Sailor Moon steps into the open, the reporters having swooped in like starved hawks when news of the attack had spread. "Sailor Moon, a few questions, please!!!" one calls out, pen and notepad in hand.  
  
Sighing, knowing that the people deserved an explanation, some ray of hope, Moon nods, the other Senshi falling around her. Moon quickly explains what happened, the others diving in with their own details. "So you're saying that this incident...and this must then mean that all the other incidents around the world...are being instigated by aliens?!" another wonders.  
  
"We're not sure," Moon sighs. "Sailor Gaia has taken the one we captured and is now examining her. I know you want answers to give your readers and listeners, but I can't provide them yet. I was appraised of the faithless plague just today. I've been out of touch with the news since before it began. I can say that now that we're aware of this, we," she indicates her fellow Senshi, "...will be ready to help whenever we can." Looking down, she wipes a tear from her eye. "The hardest thing we could ever learn, especially now...is how to deal with losing the lives of innocent bystanders even after we took an oath to protect you all. My heart, our hearts, go out to the bereaved and the relatives of the wounded."  
  
"Is there anything more you can say?"  
  
Moon sighs, then gazes assuredly at Diana before staring at the reporters. "This crisis that grips all of Earth...seems to be aimed at weakening our faith in ourselves and the world around us. Shrines like this one can be rebuilt and replaced. Lives can be rebuilt...but never replaced. We have to accept that. But what we also must accept...is that whoever is doing this is trying to make us shy away from accepting faith, one of the foundations of our society. We can't let them get away with it. Each of you...has to tell yourselves...that this is a lie. They're not the gods coming down and punishing us. These are daemons trying to make us believe the gods have turned their backs on us. This is not the time to throw faith away. It's the time to make it strong. Thank you."  
  
With that, the Senshi draw back, then leap away...  
  
* * *  
  
"...and those were the words of the mysterious Sailor Moon, who was the hero of the hour responsible for keeping the riot at Hikawa Jinja from becoming a total catastrophe," the NHK reporter stares at her notes. "Police have confirmed that the alien woman responsible for the attack has been remanded into the custody of Sailor Gaia of the Senshi Twins until such time as more information can be gathered concerning Earth's latest group of invaders..."  
  
"Man, Usagi was really busy today, wasn't she?" Shingo hums as he flips the channel, stroking Luna's neck fur.  
  
"She was spectacular," Luna smiles at her ward's brother. "Much more than I'd ever suspect from your sister, Shingo."  
  
"Oh, so *you* know now?!" a voice wonders from nearby.  
  
"Yes, he figured it out sometime ago, Usagi," Luna sighs as Usagi sits beside her brother.  
  
"Hard not to wonder what's going on, especially when you talk to your cat and she talks back," Shingo muses.  
  
"Geez, it's a wonder everyone hasn't figured it out," Usagi shakes her head, then gazes at her brother. "You okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm cool," Shingo sighs, then looks down. "Yuu-chan dumped me two days ago for the leader of the soccer team!"  
  
"What?!" Usagi blinks, then shakes her head. "Oh, she was a ditz, anyway! You're better off without her!!"  
  
"You've always said that," Shingo hums. "I guess we're going through pain right now. I've gotta deal with a lost girlfriend. You're dealing with lost lives. I guess I'm the lucky one."  
  
"You are," Usagi shakes her head, then looks down. "It had to happen sooner or later, I guess. Doesn't make it any better."  
  
The doorbell peals. "I'll get it," Shingo heads over to open the door, then backs off as the inner Senshi save Rei, Hotaru and the Twins save Yuki stream in. "What are you guys doing here?"  
  
"Hi, Shingo," Makoto smiles, then stares at Usagi. "Hey, you did good work today, Usagi-chan! You're okay?!"  
  
"Pretty okay, Mako-chan," Usagi rises, then notices the quiet girl beside Sakebu. "How is she?"  
  
"Well, she's coming around," the Senshi healer hums as everyone sits in the living room, Kokoro sitting beside Sakebu. "I have been able to get some things out of her."  
  
"Then, let's begin," Luna sits beside Usagi, gazing at the dazed Shingi Maiden. "Now, why won't you tell us who you are and where you're from."  
  
"I am Kokoro," the woman responds in a robotic monotone. "I was a Shingi Maiden, a servant of the Reverend Fushingi."  
  
"And what brought you to Earth?" Luna wonders.  
  
"To foster Chaos, to destroy Earth in a Chaos Crusade and allow the Reverend to feed upon the energy of Chaos released when people die violently."  
  
The Senshi feel a chill quake them. "Is this the first time you've done this?" Hotaru wonders.  
  
"Negative. This is the fifteenth world we've visited since we entered this galaxy."  
  
"And the others worlds you visited?" Minako asks.  
  
"Destroyed."  
  
Silence falls like a guillotine, the flatness of Kokoro's answer as chilling as what her words implied. "That is all we can get from her right now," Sakebu sighs. "When I asked her to tell me more of this sub-creature Fushingi or her fellow Maidens, she states that the information was deleted from her mind. She does confirm that she has a sister, a woman named Yuuwaku. Other than that, there's little more we can learn from her now."  
  
"Tells us our doom but let's us guess as to what they're like to ensure we can't stop it," Matsuri hums. "Was there anything else you could learn, Sakebu-chan?"  
  
"Well, deep in her psyche, there is something that has been growing within her since she was created," Sakebu sighs. "All of us, even Nendo-kata, possess a dark side to our nature. Since she was created to spread disUnity, Kokoro has developed the opposite. A part of her wants to serve Unity. If we can allow this to blossom forth, then she can have a normal life."  
  
"As normal as it can be," Ayako hums, her eyes glowing. "I can tell she's been raped a few times."  
  
"I have had fifty-three sexual encounters with the Reverend since I was created, Mistress," Kokoro reports.  
  
Everyone is appalled at the lack of emotion the Maiden was showing towards her violation. "Atop that, she was sterilized shortly after her birth," Sakebu sighs. "I reversed it when I did her physical examination, so if she settles down with a mate, she can have a family."  
  
Kokoro turns to Sakebu. "Mistress, it is forbidden for me to procreate."  
  
"Who told you that?!" Usagi wonders.  
  
"The Reverend did."  
  
Ayako kneels beside her. "Is the Reverend your master now?"  
  
"Negative. You are."  
  
"Then we're telling you to get off this kick of being a sex slave and go find a boyfriend!" Ayako orders.  
  
"Understood."  
  
Kokoro rises, then walks over to where Shingo is preparing snacks. Taking him by the arm, she spins him around and swamps him with a kiss. Perspiration pops as Kokoro gazes at him. "You are now my boyfriend," she smiles.  
  
Shingo moans, feeling his strength go as he slumps into the Maiden's embrace. Ayako watches this, then sighs. "I didn't mean THAT fast, dummy!!" she slaps her forehead.  
  
The others sigh...  
  
* * *  
  
"Is that normal for you guys?!" Shingo wonders as he and Usagi ascend to her bedroom, relaxing on the bed.  
  
"Not really," Usagi lays back, gazing at the ceiling. "I gotta admit, whoever this Fushingi is, he'll be no pushover. I doubt my words earlier would've changed a lot of people's minds. Only way this can stop is to find him and put him out of business."  
  
"Yeah, this guy's gross!" Shingo sneers. "Jeez, fifty-three times?! No wonder she's screwed up!"  
  
"Reminds me of some of the fringe evangelical cults I've heard about," Usagi sighs, laying on her side. "Guy comes out, promising to help people contact whatever deity they want, swipes all their money, then convinces people to give him personal favours like sex...and if they rebel, they dump them without a penny to their name out somewhere where their chances of survival are zero! Makes me wonder why people don't lose their faith more often these days!"  
  
"All you need was a daemon to stoke it along," Shingo hums, then gazes out the window. "You think this'll be over soon, sis?"  
  
"Maybe, hard to predict," Usagi rubs her forehead, then blinks as the door opens to reveal Kokoro, wearing a simple T-shirt and shorts taken from Usagi's clothes.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Shingo wonders.  
  
Kokoro sits beside him, gazing expectantly into his eyes. "You are my boyfriend, Master. I must be with you."  
  
Shingo sweats. "Pity Ayako-chan couldn't do something about that when she upgraded her knowledge on caring for herself," Usagi smiles. "Temptation city, huh?"  
  
"Thanks a lot, sis!" Shingo grunts as he leads Kokoro out of the bedroom into his room.  
  
Sitting the Maiden down on the futon beside his bed, he then sits before her, staring into her blissful face. While he was as easily sexually aroused as most of his peers, Shingo did comport himself as a gentleman when dealing with girls. Whenever he dated Yuu Morii, his classmate since primary school, he always treated her with courtesy and kindness. It obviously wasn't enough; he knew the obnoxious jerk who had captured Yuu's heart and wondered what had possessed her to go with him.  
  
"You are hurt," Kokoro blinks.  
  
Shingo blinks, then sighs. "You can tell?"  
  
"She betrayed you, Master. It is wrong. You gave her your loyalty. She failed to return it. It must be punished."  
  
Shingo jerks, suddenly wondering if Kokoro still possessed her deadly powers as a Shingi Maiden, then gazes at her. "No, Kokoro-chan. Don't. She's not worth it."  
  
"Not worth avenging your heart?" Kokoro hums. "She must be shown what a good person you are, shown the extent of her crime. You are my master and I do not like it when my master is hurt."  
  
Shingo hums, realizing that must have been a carry-over from her time as a Shingi Maiden, vowing to protect and "serve" this Reverend Fushingi from those who might be strong enough to hurt him. If he didn't watch Kokoro, something ugly could happen to someone. Biting his lips, he stares at her...as an idea pops into his mind. "Hey, I've got it. Okay, from now on, your name will not be 'Kokoro.' Understand?"  
  
"What will be my self-designator?"  
  
"Yuu. Yuu...Nanase. Understand?"  
  
The newly-named Yuu blinks, then nods. "Yes, Master. I am now Yuu Nanase."  
  
Shingo winces. "Um, Yuu-chan?"  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"Don't call me 'Master' anymore. Call me 'Shingo-kun.'"  
  
"Yes, Shingo-kun," Yuu smiles.  
  
Shingo exhales. *Times are going to be strange around here from now on...* he muses, rising to undress...then senses Yuu's stare. "Um, could you turn around?!" he feels his cheeks flame.  
  
"Why?" Yuu blinks.  
  
"Um...I'd like to undress."  
  
"Oh!" Yuu nods, rising. "I'll undress you."  
  
Shingo faints! "No!!! I...oh, geez!!" he feels his head, sitting down on the bed.  
  
Yuu hums, then reaches to her top. "What are you doing?!" Shingo grabs her hands.  
  
Innocent naivete responds. "I am undressing. It is proper for lovers to sleep together, correct?" Yuu wonders.  
  
Shingo plugs his nose, wondering what sleeping with such a beautiful woman would do to him, especially if his parents found out. "Um...could you undress in Usagi's room, please?! And make sure you wear pyjamas!"  
  
"We will not sleep in the nude and have sex?" Yuu hums.  
  
Shingo jerks, blood streaming from his nostrils. "Hey, we just met, huh!! Give us a bit!"  
  
Yuu blinks, then nods, heading out of the room. Seconds later, Usagi peeks inside. "Having fun?" she smiles lecherously.  
  
"I'm gonna kill Ayako for this!" Shingo hisses...  
  
* * *  
  
"So how were things last night?" Ikuko hums as she peeks into the bathroom next morning to see Shingo brushing his teeth.  
  
"Terrible!" Shingo mutters after spitting out the suds. "Yuu-chan kept asking me to come into my bed and take her clothes off! I didn't get her to fall asleep until two!!"  
  
His mother chuckles as she walks in, her hands playing with some unruly strands in his hair. "My, I never thought I had raised such a gentleman! I'm very proud of you, Shingo-chan."  
  
"Thanks, Mom," Shingo gargles, then spits out the mouthwash.  
  
Ikuko sighs. "You should know that sexual arousal is natural when you're dealing with a pretty girl like Yuu-chan. Minds and bodies mature at a different rate, which makes things pretty rough for people your age. I was the same way. So if you do feel yourself tempted, just make sure you take precautions, okay?"  
  
"Mom!!" Shingo cries out. "What will the others think?!!"  
  
"What do they care?! It's your relationship and Yuu-chan is your girlfriend! She does have shortcomings, but I admit that she's much better than the *other* girl you dealt with!!"  
  
Shingo sighs. His parents had hit the roof when they heard of what Yuu Morii had done, not that they really liked the girl in the first place when they heard of her. Like caring parents elsewhere, the Tsukinos wanted to ensure that their son had a good, decent woman to perhaps become a future wife. Yuu Morii failed to pass muster in a dozen areas, which made Yuu Nanase all the more inviting, for them as well as their son. "You really want it to happen, do you?" he turns to wash his face.  
  
"Of course," Ikuko smiles. "Shingo, the day you're in my position, you'll want the same thing for your children. It's part of being a parent. Breakfast'll be ready soon."  
  
"Hai, hai," Shingo sighs...  
  
* * *  
  
"What is your plan, Galaxia?"  
  
The Golden Senshi bows to the Reverend. "We must ascertain where Sailor Moon lives. At her point in life, she will be in a place of higher education; a university as it's called here. Once we know where she is...and if it's far from the other Senshi, we'll take her star seed, eliminating her. With that, the Senshi who are loyal to her will fall...and then we can deal with these others who've appeared since last I was in this solar system."  
  
"And your Anima Mates? Are they ready?"  
  
Galaxia turns to stare at Iron Mouse, Aluminum Siren, Lead Crow and Tin Nyanko. "They are."  
  
"Good. Yuuwaku and Zentsubou will go with you."  
  
"I can use them," Galaxia nods.  
  
The two Maidens rise to follow the Golden Senshi and her four slave warriors out. Another, a statuesque woman with her straight black hair down to her short ribs, gazes at her leader. "Reverend, is it wise to send Yuuwaku out given what happened to Kokoro?"  
  
"It'll be alright, Kurushimi," Fushingi hums, staring wantingly at his First Maiden. "Now, why won't you show me why I made you my first."  
  
"Of course, Reverend," she reaches up to her top...  
  
* * *  
  
"So how's Shingo-kun dealing with his new love?" Naru hums as she and Usagi disembark the train at Sapporo station.  
  
"Fairly well," Usagi snickers, remembering what her brother had said on his and Yuu's first "date" before leaving Tokyo. "He and Yuu-chan went out to Motoki-kun's arcade to play games. That's when that dork Morii showed up with her boyfriend and got a gander of Yuu-chan. When she heard the name, she freaked right out. Serves her right for breaking my brother's heart like that!"  
  
"What did Morii-san's boyfriend do?"  
  
"Tried to hit on Yuu-chan...and she broke his arm," Usagi grins, then blinks as the ground shakes. "What the...?!"  
  
An explosion shoots a billow of energy into the heavens from the downtown square. "Uh-oh!!" Usagi shudders. "Looks like we're needed! Let's go!!"  
  
"Hai!" Naru nods as they run out into the streets...  
  
* * *  
  
"There!!" Sailor Tetsuzo points at Hokkaido, the flash of energy emanating from downtown Sapporo winking like some dim firefly to the three Salvation Senshi arriving in orbit.  
  
"Let's get down there!" Enko shoves the accelerator as their ship dives for the atmosphere...  
  
* * *  
  
"There were survivors from our three last crusades," Fushingi sneers as the image of the Salvation Senshi's ship appears in his scrying glass, then gazes at Kurushimi. "Kill the children."  
  
"At once," the First Maiden bows, then leaves...  
  
* * *  
  
"Oh, no, you don't!" a man smiles as a black cape teleports him from the Rock of Infinity toward Japan...  
  
* * *  
  
"SAILOR MOON!!!!!!" Galaxia screams as she sends torrents of energy blazing forth to shatter windows and bring burning debris on passers by. "Where are you?!! Show yourself!!!"  
  
"This is so much fun!!" Nyanko snickers as she aims a bazooka and demolishes the city hall.  
  
"We aught to do this more often!!" Siren laughs as she fires her wrist-crystals to probe for people's star seeds.  
  
Already, a storm of Haishin were on the loose, lashing out to strike down as many people as possible, Yuuwaku and Zentsubou stirring up their own trouble. Suddenly, the ground under their feet trembles as relentless force surges from deep within the crust. "H-hey, wh-what's that?!" Mouse stammers.  
  
A lava vent explodes, scattering the attackers as four lithe figures leap out of the ground!! The crowds pause, then cheer as the Senshi now attending Sapporo University move to bracketing positions on all sides of Galaxia and her allies. "You bonged, Galaxia?!" Sailor Moon sighs, shaking her head. "I prayed I'd never see you again on this world!"  
  
"You prayed wrong!!" Galaxia snarls, then lashes out with her wrist-bracelets.  
  
The Crystal appears, the Lancer leaping out to shatter the energy balls before they get close! "Nice try," Moon stows the Crystal, then assumes a ready stance.  
  
"Galaxia's mine!!" Terra barks out.  
  
"GO!!!!" Moon snaps.  
  
The Senshi lunge at their opponents, diving to everyone's surprise not on the Haishin, but the women who created them. Seeing her chance, Yuuwaku spins on Moon, her own hands blazing. "Murderer!!! Now you pay for what you did to my sister!!!"  
  
"Then you can join her!!" Moon flings the Lancer.  
  
The Maiden ducks as the blade flies over her head, then fires her own blast of energy. "***ENERGY MOON DARTS!!!!!!***" Diana winds up, sending a storm at the Maiden, who falters back...  
  
...then jerks as the Lancer, which rebounded off a building, slams into her heart!! Gasping, she shudders as her mind overloads from the Lancer's power, then collapses to the ground as half the Haishin disappear, reverting to normal. "Someone get the other one!!" Moon barks as she leaps for her sword.  
  
"I'm trying!!!" Chronos screams as she lunges after Zentsubou, the Time Reaper whirling for a clear shot.  
  
Seeing a chance, Galaxia lunges for the Senshi leader...and is flung back when a foot draped in a mary jane smacks into her gut, doubling her over! Terra draws back, fists at the ready as she puts herself between her friend and the Golden Senshi. "You'll have to come through me first, bitch!!"  
  
"My pleasure!" Galaxia growls, her wrist-bracelets firing.  
  
The bolts slam into Terra, causing a flower to appear over her head as a star seed forms! "Terra!!!" Moon gasps.  
  
Suddenly, the star seed turns black! "What...?!!" Galaxia gasps as black energy warps around the avatar of Life...  
  
...then explodes as a soulsword slices through the bonds, revealing a VERY pissed off Sailor Terra!! "**Care to try that again?!**" her eyes glow as she lunges at Galaxia.  
  
"How's that possible?" Moon gapes in disbelief.  
  
Galaxia's own shock nearly dooms her as the soulsword lances at her face, then she is knocked aside by Zentsubou, who takes the energy blade in her own heart!! Screaming, the Maiden is flung away from the scene, her own mind shutting down as Terra disperses her sword, then with a howl, she leaps at Galaxia.  
  
The other Haishin revert to normal as the Anima Mates, now facing Sailor Diana, watch their boss being tackled by the tenth Senshi. Nyanko breaks away as she tries to get into a position to aid, but is intercepted by Chronos, who telekinetically shoves the Anima Mate into a car, then dumps three more atop her!! "You'll keep," the time reaper moves to stand beside her life-mate.  
  
The other Anima Mates brace themselves, realizing that they were in more trouble than they knew how to really deal with. "Um...wh-what do we do?!" Siren muses.  
  
"You return to the Cosmic Chain of Life!" a voice replies.  
  
The Anima Mates spin around and up to see three women standing on a nearby pillar, three wearing VERY familiar costumes...  
  
...their own!  
  
"Are we interrupting something?!" Sailor Enko grins.  
  
"Hey!!!" Lead Crow screams. "You're us!!"  
  
"Say that the other way!!" Tetsuzo smirks as they leap over their fellow Nendo-kata to form a line before the Anima Mates, then her eyes glow. "I'll take those!!!"  
  
Iron Mouse screams as a telekinetic fist slams her hands together, shattering the bracelets keeping her alive. As she fades from existence, Aluminum Siren leaps at her look-alike, hands waving around in a circle. "***GALACTICA TSUNAMI!!!!!!***"  
  
"***VENGEANCE SCREAM!!!!!!***" Ginkaibijou counters.  
  
A blast of ear-splitting noise rips through the air, punching through the wall of cosmic energy Aluminum Siren raised, then slamming into the Anima Mate and propelling her into Sailor Moon's Moon Lancer!! "Gig's up!!" Moon grins as she disintegrates.  
  
Enko and Lead Crow square off, the stars on their foreheads flashing. "***DESERT WIND!!!!!!***" the Anima Mate fores a blast of energy at her reborn look-alike.  
  
Nothing happens, causing Lead Crow to fearfully back away. "Can't do that to a Nendo-kata!!" Enko laughs, then fires a beam of energy. "***DEATH HYPNOSIS PARALYSIS!!!!!!***"  
  
The bolt slams into the Anima Mate, eliciting a terrifying scream as she imagines what being dead and buried for a year would be like! With that, Enko walks up, then shatters the wrist-bracelets to cause Lead Crow to disappear. Once that's done, the three Salvation Senshi relax. "Well, that was fun!" Tetsuzo hums.  
  
An explosion of cars nearby reveals a very angry Tin Nyanko. "Not over yet, Nezu!" Enko hums, her eyes glowing.  
  
"DIE!!!!!!" Tin Nyanko levels her bazooka...  
  
...then blinks comically as her bracelets are shattered, causing her to fade out of existence!! "You always were a back-stabbing bitch, Nyanko!" Enko snarls, her eyes reverting to normal, then looks around. "Now, where's Galaxia?!!"  
  
"Hey, check her out!!" Ginkaibijou points.  
  
Everyone turns to see Galaxia staggering from Sailor Terra, who has hounded the Golden Senshi like a relentless bulldog, peppering her with punches and kicks to the face and chest to keep her off-balance. "Want some help, Terra?" Moon asks.  
  
"No, just getting warmed up!!" Terra cracks her knuckles, then winds up. "***TYPHOON WIND-FIST!!!!!!***"  
  
Galaxia is deluged, the blows' impact sending her flying into a parked van!! "There!!" Terra relaxes. "Now, Sailor Moon!!"  
  
"Right!!!" Moon draws her Crystal...  
  
...as another Shingi Maiden appears beside the Golden Senshi. "Nice try, Sailor Moon!" she smirks as she and Galaxia vanish.  
  
"Aw, hell!!!" Moon snaps. "They got away!!"  
  
"True, but we caught two more Shingi Maidens...and got three new friends out of it, too," Terra nods to the three alien Senshi who just arrived.  
  
The Salvation Senshi blush, bowing. "Indeed, it is good that you came, sisters," Diana hums. "From what schools do you hail?"  
  
"May we explain that later, sister?" Tetsuzo sighs. "We came here bearing orphaned children from our homeworlds, so we'd like to look in on them first."  
  
"We'll come with you," Diana nods, waving to Moon. "Be back in a moment, sister."  
  
"Right," Moon nods as the Nendo-kata leave, then stares at Terra. "I wonder what happened to them."  
  
"I'm afraid to find out," Terra muses...  
  
* * *  
  
"There, you'll keep," the Forever Knight smiles.  
  
The cape billows as he disappears...just as a teleport beam brings in the Salvation Senshi and their friends. "Something has happened..." Tetsuzo's eyes glow, then she turns, jolting on seeing the unconscious form of a Shingi Maiden on the deck. "Eh?!!"  
  
"The children!!" Ginkaibijou snaps.  
  
Enko races into the small dormitory next door to see the twelve children the Salvation Senshi were caring for playing among themselves. No one is harmed, nor does she sense any lingering traces of disUnity around them. Breathing out in relief, berating herself for not thinking about the children when a possible threat was in the area, she walks back into the teleporter room as Diana and Chronos sit the dazed Kurushimi up. "She must've been sent to hurt the children while we were trying to see you," she bites her lips, kicking herself for making such an idiotic mistake.  
  
"But someone stopped her," Diana hums, her eyes glowing. "I can feel his presence here."  
  
"It actually feels like..." Chronos muses, then grins.  
  
"Yuki-chan's birthday present to Setsuna-chan!"  
  
The Salvation Senshi blink confusedly. "A birthday present did this?!" Enko wonders.  
  
"Hai," the two Twins nod...  
  
* * *  
  
"Reverend, we have lost Yuuwaku, Zentsubou and Kurushimi," a Maiden bows before the dark preacher. "What are we to do?!"  
  
Fushingi trembles, his fists clenching uncontrollably. To lose his wonderful First Maiden...that was too much. Even more so because he didn't sense the one responsible for her fall. "We wait and we watch!" he hisses. "We wait and watch..."  
  
* * *  
  
"Gods!!" Usagi gasps.  
  
Having transformed to civilian guises, the Salvation Senshi meet their new friends in Usagi's and Naru's dorm room later. The last survivors of Enko, Ginkai and Tetsuzo were being babysat by Chooko aboard their ship, she telepathically monitoring the conversation through Nona. The Salvation Senshi sadly nod. "That's what happened," Akane hisses. "Destruction as far as the eye could see, all over the planet. Only three survivors for my world, three for Reiko-chan's and six for Chuuko-chan's."  
  
"And the dorks we're fighting now caused it?" Naru shudders.  
  
"Hai," Chuuko snarls, her teeth grinding. "Their stench is the same here as back home. I'll never put it out of my mind."  
  
Sympathetic looks respond. "Does anyone have any idea why these parasites exist?!" Usagi demands.  
  
The Salvation Senshi shake their heads. Nona then bites her lips. "Wait a minute. Sakebu-chan said that there was a part of the first one we captured which was more inclined towards the cause of Unity, a part that needed the chance to come out..."  
  
"Ayako!" Usagi's eyes widen understandingly. "Her Heart Passion Nova should do the trick!! Let's go see her!"  
  
* * *  
  
After a quick call home to get Shingo to bring Yuu to the large apartment building now used by Ayako, Matsuri and their eight guests, the four Shingi Maidens face the passion mistress in an empty room later. Matsuri was now helping the Salvation Senshi and their charges settle in, doing what came natural to a Nendo-kata when dealing with orphaned Wanderers. "How will this help us, Shingo-kun?" Yuu gazes at her boyfriend.  
  
"Search me," he shrugs, staring at Aphrodite. "I sure hope you know what you're doing, Ayako-san."  
  
"Of ye of so little faith!" she grins, taking the Imperium Silver Crystal from Usagi, then concentrates, a funnel of energy spiralling around her as she begins her twirling dance.  
  
"Not so hard, Ayako!" Usagi warns.  
  
"No problem!! ***HEART PASSION NOVA!!!!!!***"  
  
The four biodroids are slammed by a storm of empathic energy. their eyes widening as a strangled scream escapes them. Psychic fire burns through them for a moment, then as the glow fades, they collapse on the sofa behind them. "Yuu-chan!!" Shingo cries, racing over to hold her up. "Are you okay?!"  
  
Yuu blinks for a moment as strange thoughts, ideas, beliefs, race through her mind, then she gazes at him, smiling. "Hai, Shingo-kun, I'm fine now."  
  
"Thank the gods," he draws her into his arms.  
  
"How do you feel?" Aphrodite hands the Crystal back to Usagi.  
  
Kurushimi blinks, then shudders, tears flowing down her cheeks as memories of her past Chaos Crusades storm into her mind. "Wh-why didn't y-you kill u-us...?!" she sobs, her strength fading as she collapses to the floor.  
  
Yuuwaku and Zentsubou also weep. The door to their room opens to reveal Matsuri, Chuuko, Reiko and Akane. The Salvation Senshi kneel beside the three other Shingi Maidens, embracing them as they vent out their grief and sorrow. Matsuri kneels beside Yuu as her smile turns into a frown, her own tears flowing. "Why couldn't you make me forget...?" she wonders.  
  
"You have to come to terms with it, Yuu-chan," Matsuri sighs. "To deny it or forget it would only make your past acts worse in the eyes of the Mother Ocean. I'm sure those Fushingi made you kill...would understand."  
  
Hearing that quiet reassurance, Yuu smiles, then shifts herself to warmly kiss Shingo...  
  
* * *  
  
A Senshi meeting is quickly convened at Matsuri's home so the others could learn the nature of the Fushin and the faithless plague, not to mention hear the Salvation Senshi's stories. Atop that, Yuuwaku...now calling herself Asuka Nanase...got the chance to meet her future brother-in-law. Shingo and Gurio, who came with Setsuna, Yuki and Sakebu, are stuck doing snack duty with Ayako's and Matsuri's other guests. Rei, despite the others trying to keep her at home, came. "The first thing we should do is to find some way to allow you to integrate yourselves into society," Luna muses. "I'm sure Ataru Moroboshi's grandmother can assist in that matter."  
  
"Even after what we've done?" Zentsubou...now calling herself Chie Ayasaki...wonders.  
  
"We can...understand what you're going through right now," Usagi smiles. "Over the past while, we've been trying to move away from killing daemons to trying to help them. The eight women living here with Ayako-chan and Matsuri-chan were formerly monsters of the Black Moon Clan of Nemesis. Right, Nagisa-chan?"  
  
"Hai," Nagisa Setsu (formerly Nipos) nods as she serves tea.  
  
"I can sense that," Kurushimi...now Wakana Matsuoka...nods, gazing at Nagisa, then turns back to Usagi. "But their actions were easily repaired. Ours certainly won't."  
  
Grim nods answer. "We'll have to accept that for now," Usagi sighs, allowing Mamoru's hand to rest on her shoulder. "People one way or another will want an accounting for this. Sakebu-chan, how can we get people to heal...?"  
  
"You can't," Sakebu shakes her head. "Still, when the news of your fighting Galaxia hit the airwaves, it went around the world. Miracle of CNN, I suppose. All the major world religious leaders are praying for you, Usagi-chan. Most people're cheering you on."  
  
"I never wanted this type of exposure," Usagi grimaces, then sighs. "Okay, so what can we do? Ideas, anyone?"  
  
"Well, since we all hail from different parts of Japan...and if Fushingi is inclined to concentrate his attacks here to keep us busy, then we should spread out to cover the maximum amount of territory possible," Katsura purses her lips.  
  
"Tsu-chan and I can cover Okinawa and Kyushu," Nareta hums.  
  
"And we're up in Hokkaido," Nona stares at Usagi.  
  
"Most of us live in the Tokyo area, so we've got the centre watched, too," Matsuri muses. "We can use Yuki-chan and Setsuna-chan to teleport us to aid each other in case things get too dicey, but after Naru-chan gave Galaxia a beating, I don't think we'll have to worry too much save for dealing with the Shingi Maidens."  
  
Eyes lock on the avatar of Life, stunned that she could hammer the Golden Senshi down so easily when they nearly died at Galaxia's hand last time. Naru snorts, crossing her arms. "'Most powerful Senshi,' everyone says! Feh! She was a pushover!!"  
  
"Remember what Teach says, Naru-chan," Usagi warns. "Don't get too overconfident or you're stabbing yourself."  
  
"Right," Naru sighs.  
  
The originals and Mamoru gazes at their leader. "'Teach?!' What teach?!" Minako blinks confusedly.  
  
"My martial arts teacher," Usagi grins.  
  
Shock responds. "Martial arts?!!" Mamoru blinks. "Since when did you decide to do something like that, Usako?!"  
  
"Since I've grown sick and tired of allowing all of you to do the fighting and wanted to get in on it myself!" Usagi smiles, then stares at her fiance's neutral expression. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I...I guess so," Mamoru looks away.  
  
Usagi turns, noticing the Inner Senshi were all gazing at the floor, possessing downcast looks equal to Rei's when she first heard of the changes with their leader. Hotaru remains strangely passive, though her eyes also flash many questions. Setsuna was also impassive, but that was Setsuna for you. "Hey, stop that!" Usagi rises. "Look, isn't it too much to ask to be able to fight a little better, get the job done faster?! I'm tired of watching you taking the lumps for me! What's wrong?!"  
  
"What's wrong...?!!" Makoto snaps, glaring at her.  
  
"Makoto!!" Katsura and Junko bark.  
  
She jolts, then looks down. "N-nothing's wrong, Usagi-chan," Makoto shakes her head. "Nothing at all..."  
  
* * *  
  
"So many questions they ask deep in their hearts," Fushingi snickers, gazing at the images of the Inner Senshi, Setsuna, Hotaru and Mamoru in his scrying glass. "Even the time dancer and the so-called Senshi of Silence are confused. How interesting..."  
  
Monomaniacal laughter echoes through the Fushin's ship...  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	3. Part 3 - Crossing The Great Divide

"Thank you for allowing me to stay here."  
  
"It's my pleasure," Rei smiles as Chie sips her tea, both now in the sacred fire room of Hikawa Jinja. When she wasn't weeping over those who had died that morning, the priestess had cleaned the shrine, rendered it pristine for future use. Soon, her grandfather would call Chiezou Budou, the senior priest of Kantou, to dedicate a memorial for those who had fallen at the Shingi Maidens' hands. Until then, the shrine was closed to parishioners.  
  
While still uncertain over the sudden change that had befallen Usagi, Rei's personal faith was strong. She wasn't going to give Chie's ex-leader the satisfaction of seeing her surrender to Chaos, abandon her faith and everything else that marked her as a sentient being. Forgiveness for sin, especially when one was ignorant of right and wrong, was a lesson in all major faiths, so allowing the ex-Shingi Maiden to reside here was natural. Besides, forgiveness for honest repentance was something the Senshi practiced almost daily: Yuu and Asuka were staying with the Tsukinos while Wakana was staying with Katsura and Makoto.  
  
"I wish Yuu would've come stay here," Rei sighs.  
  
"Yuu can't forgive herself for what she did here, Rei," Chie bites her lips. "There were times, as Maidens, that we cringed at what we did. We didn't understand why we felt this way, but we did. The Reverend punished us every time, usually using Wakana as his weapon of choice. But deep down, even she understood what Yuu, Asuka, the others and I felt. She had her doubts, too."  
  
"When did these feelings come out?"  
  
Chie bites her lips. "Children."  
  
"Children?!"  
  
"Hai," Chie sighs. "As Shingi Maidens, it was forbidden for any of us to procreate. I'm...happy that Sakebu changed that. There were times when we had to...deal with children."  
  
"Gods..." Rei pales.  
  
"Look at me," Chie's eyes water, pointing to herself. "To you, the very concept of hurting a child is heinous, the worst type of crime imaginable. You would happily applaud your government if they legalized capital punishment for child abuse or child rape. To me...I don't know how to feel about that, Rei. Children are so alien to someone like me. Yet...whenever we were in previous Chaos Crusades, when I faced children...I couldn't do anything to make them Haishin, or send Haishin after them."  
  
"What about the others?"  
  
"Same with them," Chie sighs. "Try as the Reverend would, he couldn't...eliminate our hesitation about that. So, in the most recent Crusades, we only went after the adults...and allowed the children to wither...and die..."  
  
"Abandoned," Rei grimaces, her fists quaking. "Oh, Chie..."  
  
Reaching over, the priestess draws the ex-Shingi Maiden into her arms, allowing Chie to weep, though Rei understood that Chie was having a problem conceiving of why she was crying. A cough is then heard. Both women turn to see Rei's grandfather standing there. "Grandpa," Rei blinks.  
  
"I apologize; I couldn't help but overhear your words, young lady," the elder priest sighs. Rei smirks; who knows HOW old Chie really was. "It appears you need the chance to learn a few things about what it takes to be really human."  
  
"But you are of only one opinion of that matter," Chie warns, wiping her eyes.  
  
"I know, child," he nods, staring at his granddaughter. "Even after learning about Rei's secret, I still find it hard to believe that Creation is so vast. You've seen quite a lot, but you've never been permitted to learn from what you've seen. I assume that such is true with your friends, right?"  
  
"Hai," Chie nods.  
  
"Then would you permit us to teach you the ways of Shinto?"  
  
She blinks, then hugs herself. "Ojii-sama, you...for so long, I have worked at debunking faith. Accepting it...to be one I once would've targeted...is very hard for me."  
  
"It's not as hard as you think, child," the old priest smiles. "Not as hard as you think. I'll let you ponder that for a while. In the meantime, I'm going to bed."  
  
"Good night, Grandpa," Rei smiles as he walks away.  
  
The main doors then open to reveal Yuuichirou. "Hey, Rei, there you are...eh?!" the former rock singer blinks on noticing the ex-Fushin. "What's she doing here?!"  
  
"She's staying here for a while, Yuuichirou-kun," Rei sighs, then does the introductions.  
  
Yuuichirou sweats on seeing Chie's cheeks colour, her eyes...now that she was no longer a Shingi Maiden, they had transformed to a beautiful hazel...sparkling with intense interest. "Er...y-yeah!" he stammers, then quickly withdraws to his bedroom. "I'll s-see y-you guys l-later."  
  
Chie blinks as the door closes, then stares at Rei, a bemused smile twitching her lips. "Rei, he IS single, I hope!"  
  
Rei laughs...  
  
* * *  
  
"Faith No More"  
a tale of the Sailor Senshi  
by Fred Herriot  
fherriot@yahoo.com  
**** **** ****  
Edited by E.B. Kushnir  
kush1@iaw.on.ca  
**** **** ****  
Based on "Sailor Moon," created by Naoko Takeuchi  
**** **** ****  
  
PART THREE - CROSSING THE GREAT DIVIDE  
  
Shingo Tsukino suppresses a gulp as he stares at the lovely vision before him. Yuu was draped only in a large towel, her damp hair somewhat dried after she took a shower. She was also standing very still. "Y-yuu-chan..."  
  
"What are you waiting for?" Yuu smiles, winking.  
  
Shingo shudders, a lump the size of Tokyo in his throat. She was SO beautiful! Her hazel eyes hungrily sparkled as he finally gave in to his other "brain's" desire, rising to gently pull her towel away...and reveal a strapless bikini!  
  
"Gotcha!!" Yuu winks.  
  
Shingo faints! Yuu laughs as she collapses on the bed beside him. The door opens to reveal Asuka. "Onee-chan, what are you up to?!" she walks in, then chuckles on seeing Shingo.  
  
"Aw, it's not funny!" Shingo moans.  
  
"My love, learn to laugh at yourself a little," Yuu jabs him in the short ribs. "It makes for a much easier life!"  
  
"And you didn't laugh at yourself?" Shingo stares at her.  
  
Yuu blinks, then looks down. "No, we did laugh. We laughed too much in fact. We should have cried more."  
  
Shingo winces, then sees the downcast look on Asuka's face. "Oh, geez, I'm sorry..."  
  
"No, brother-in-law, it's alright," Asuka ruefully smiles. "We were never permitted...or allowed...to ponder what we did. If we did, the Reverend was all over us like a bad plague."  
  
"There were many times I wept, deep in my heart," Yuu bites her lips. "Even then, I was caught and punished."  
  
"Yuu..." Shingo reaches over, drawing her into a warm embrace.  
  
Asuka watches them slip under the covers, then withdraws to Usagi's room. There, Luna relaxes in a chair. The cat blinks as Asuka slumps on the bed. "Are you alright?"  
  
"No, not now," she tries to smile. "But I hope that when school starts tomorrow, I find a nice guy like Onee-chan did."  
  
"Well, you can thank Ayako for Yuu's success, Asuka," Luna smiles as she hops over to lay beside the former Shingi Maiden. "Perhaps you will be quite lucky when morning comes..."  
  
* * *  
  
In high orbit, Butsubutsu sighs, gazing at the image of her playmate asleep in the enemy's very own bedroom, the enemy's feline familiar by her and her sister next door in the comforting arms of the enemy's brother. With the other Maidens were busy energizing themselves with Chaos' power or tending to the Reverend's personal lusts, she was alone in the scrying glass room. And with the First Maiden being one of the four lost to the Reverend's control, the inner desires of his elder Maidens were starting to openly emerge.  
  
Butsubutsu...she had recently picked a "post-Maiden" Earth name, Emiru Hoshino...was six hundred years old though she looked fifteen, easily welcome in Shingo's third year junior high school class. She had been in on all fifteen Crusades in this galaxy, plus several probes into other galaxies, linking up with other Fushin as they continued their eternal, dark mission. And every time, her innermost soul screamed out at the Chaos she unleashed, cringed at the stench of burning flesh and rotting corpses, wept at the destruction she helped unleash. In many ways, she was still a child. She yearned to be a child again.  
  
Now, there was a way for that to occur, Butsubutsu smiles.  
  
Soon, she would be with her beloved friend again...  
  
* * *  
  
"You want to go to her now, don't you?"  
  
"So do you," the Forever Knight muses, gazing with his all-seeing eyes at the young Shingi Maiden from his perch on the Rock of Infinity. "Even though you are the guardian of Eternity, Yuki, you're still part-Nendo-kata. Charity is second nature to your kind, remember?"  
  
"Touche," Sailor Hades grins. "Tomorrow."  
  
"Hai, tomorrow," the guardian of Infinity nods...  
  
* * *  
  
"Class, we have two new students joining us," Mrs. Haruna smiles at her third-year homeroom. "Would you care to introduce yourselves and tell us a little something about yourselves."  
  
"Hai," Yuu nods, then bows. "My name is Yuu Nanase. This is my younger sister Asuka," she indicates her sister.  
  
"We're only ten months apart age-wise," Asuka adds.  
  
That WAS the truth, Shingo smiles. "We've just come to Juuban from a long time abroad..." Yuu begins.  
  
"Practically since we were born," Asuka cutely winks.  
  
"So being back in Japan is very strange for us," Yuu finishes. "But we hope we can still make many friends here."  
  
"Wonderful," Haruna smiles, then indicates two empty seats flanking Shingo. "Why don't you sit beside Mr. Tsukino, please."  
  
"Arigato, Sensei," the Nanase sisters bow, then sit down.  
  
The students gaze at Yuu and Asuka. Many of the boys knew the elder Nanase was Shingo's new girlfriend, meeting after Yuu Morii, now sitting in the back of the room glaring icy daggers at the other Yuu, dumped him. The other girls stare quizzically at the newcomers, intuition telling them there was a lot more to these two than met the eye, yet not sensing anything dark about them.  
  
One boy, a slender fellow with spiky black hair, was trying not to drool at the very kawaii Asuka...and got a bop on the head for it! "Mr. Yoneda, we're in the middle of class right now!" Mrs. Haruna snarls. "You can stare at Miss Nanase later!!"  
  
"H-hai!" Ichiro Yoneda nods.  
  
The other students chuckle. Shingo and Yuu exchange knowing looks. Asuka blinks, then gazes strangely at Ichiro, who flashes her an apologetic smile before looking at the blackboard...  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, Ii-chan, you okay?"  
  
Ichiro blinks, then smiles at Shingo as they meet on the roof of Juuban Junior High later. "Yeah, I'm okay, man," he sighs, then rubs his head. "Though, you have to admit, I did deserve getting bopped by Haruna-sensei for gaping at Asuka-chan like that."  
  
"Hey, if you want introductions, I'll help," Shingo winks.  
  
"I'll keep it in mind...urk!" Ichiro gapes as the door from the emergency stairwell opens to reveal Yuu Morii. "Oh, shit, man, you're in for it now," his voice drops to a whisper.  
  
"What do you want, Morii-san?" Shingo turns his back to her, staring at the playground below.  
  
Morii's eyes burn at Shingo's silent insult. Ichiro was staying clear of the two. "So, what's this about you bringing that amazon into school?!" she growls. "Do you have any idea how badly she hurt poor Satoru-kun?!"  
  
"Hey, he was the one hitting on Yuu-chan!" Shingo smiles, not turning to her. "She hit back. What's your problem?!"  
  
Morii snarls, then crosses her arms. "Well, some of the girls were asking Nanase about how she met you! SHE said you two are now sleeping together in YOUR bedroom in YOUR house!! Some gentleman YOU turned out to be, you horny hentai!"  
  
Shingo sighs, then exchanges a knowing look with Ichiro. Some people were always trying to twist information to their advantage, just to make enemies squirm. Go figure. "Yes, Yuu-chan and I do sleep together. It's mutually agreed on, my parents don't object, hers have passed away...and we don't have the room at the house." He winks at his friend. "And...she wears the cutest nightgowns."  
  
Morii's head explodes in a volcano as Ichiro tries not to fall over laughing. The idiot's buttons were always easy to press, even though before now, Shingo never stooped to that level. At that moment, the door opens to reveal Yuu and Asuka. "Shingo-kun!" the former waves, running up to embrace him. "There you are, my love!"  
  
Morii screams as the couple passionately kisses, her shout alerting curious onlookers at ground level. Staring up at the new hot couple of Juuban Junior High, the student body whoops them on. The few teachers on yard duty exchange knowing smiles, remembering a time when they were that young and innocent. Ichiro smiles at his friend's success, then blinks, tensing on sensing Asuka's appraising gaze. The bell then rings. "Going my way, Asuka-chan?" Ichiro offers his arm.  
  
"Hai, Ichiro-kun," Asuka slips her arm around his.  
  
The two couples head downstairs, leaving a stunned Yuu Morii standing slack-jawed at what she observed. "I can't believe that!" she mutters. "What does that bitch have that I don't?!"  
  
"She understands loyalty!" a voice utters from behind her.  
  
Morii turns to see a dark figure in a black gown standing at the corner of the building, her body silhouetted by the sun. All that could be seen are twin stubby side pigtails and glowing eyes. "Who are you?!!" she gasps.  
  
"Someone who needs help!!" Butsubutsu snarls, dark energy forming around her. "And you were just elected to help me!!!"  
  
Morii screams...  
  
* * *  
  
"No!!!" Chie gasps, eyes widening on feeling an overpowering sense of danger.  
  
"What is it, Chie?!" Rei turns to her.  
  
"It's Butsubutsu!!" Chie stares at the priestess. "She's Asuka's best friend! She's here now, at Shingo's school!!"  
  
Rei's eyes widen, then she grabs her communicator...  
  
* * *  
  
"Time to bring someone from the darkness," the Forever Knight smiles as he teleports away...  
  
* * *  
  
"We're closest, Rei-chan!" Matsuri reports as she, Ayako and Chuuko race for the school. "We're on our way!!"  
  
"I'll call the others," Rei cuts the comm line.  
  
Ducking into an alley, the Twins draw their henshin sticks and transform. Chuuko stands back, then crosses her arms as her special wrist bracelets, more beautiful versions of the weapons she used as an Anima Mate, glow. "TETSUZO COSMIC SALVATION POWER, MAKE UP!!!!" she bellows as globes of energy shed her clothes, revealing the white jumpsuit she wore as Sailor Tetsuzo.  
  
"Would you ladies care for a lift to the school?" a voice wonders from behind them.  
  
The three turn to see the Forever Knight standing there, his black cape melting into the alley's shadows, his white tuxedo standing out like neon. "Wouldn't mind it," Aphrodite nods as the Sailor Senshi race into the darkness...  
  
...and emerge on the roof of Juuban Junior High School, seeing a Haishin appear where Yuu Morii once stood, Butsubutsu relaxing after energizing her helper. "The Maiden's mine!" Aphrodite snaps as Ares and Tetsuzo leap at the monster. "Get the Silver Crystal!"  
  
"Got it," the Forever Knight reaches into his cape, then draws out Sailor Moon's weapon, just as the door to the roof opens to reveal Yuu, Asuka and Shingo. "Uh-oh!!"  
  
"Butsubutsu!!" Asuka gasps. "Oh, no, that must be Morii-san!"  
  
Seeing Shingo, the Haishin bellows as he lashes out with a blaze of ebony energy. Yuu and Asuka leap before the hapless Terran to shield him...just as a silver blur appears before them!  
  
"***IRON SHIELD!!!!!!***"  
  
Yuu and Asuka gape as a forcefield forms around them, Shingo and Tetsuzo, the Haishin's attacks bouncing off with ease. By then, Ares is in range. "***FIRE PHOENIX!!!!!!***"  
  
The fiery bird consumes the Haishin, allowing a scarred Yuu Morii to drop to the concrete floor in a daze. By then, Aphrodite has nailed Butsubutsu with a roundhouse kick. "Catch!!" the Forever Knight tosses the Crystal at the passion mistress.  
  
"Thank you, kind sir!" Aphrodite grabs the staff, then draws the Lancer. "Okay, honey, it's heartbreak time!!"  
  
The Shingi Maiden remains still, gazing...hopefully?...at the passion mistress. "Do it."  
  
It took a lot to surprise Sailor Aphrodite. This was one of those times. "Eh?!"  
  
"Let me be with my friend again," Butsubutsu smiles, her eyes turning to stare at Asuka.  
  
Aphrodite blinks, then sheathes the Lancer before twirling the Crystal. "Okay, Emiru-chan!!! ***HEART PASSION NOVA!!!!!!***"  
  
The energy burns away Butsubutsu's clothes, face markings and black eyes...allowing Emiru Hoshino to collapse into Asuka's arms. "Emiru!!!" she cries out, then embraces her sobbing friend.  
  
The others exhale, then blink on hearing Ichiro's shocked voice. "Man, what's going on here anyway?!"  
  
"Oh, Ii-chan, shit!" Shingo shakes his head.  
  
Sighing, Tetsuzo walks over to stare evenly into his eyes, her own glowing to emphasize her point. "If you EVER tell anyone about this, Ichiro-san..."  
  
"No problem!" he backs away from the Salvation Senshi.  
  
"I'll tell you later, man," Shingo sighs.  
  
"Tell us what?!!" a voice barks.  
  
Eyes turn to see an incensed...and nicely roasted...Yuu Morii glaring at him. "Oh, jeez, you okay?!" Shingo walks over to her.  
  
"Leave me alone!!!" Morii snarls, pointing at Yuu. "What's going on here, Shingo?! Who ARE these girls...?!!"  
  
"***HEART MIRROR SHOCK!!!!!!***"  
  
ZAP!!!! Morii jolts as the black heart slams into her, then her face softens. "Shingo-kun, I'm so sorry," she stares dolefully at her former boyfriend. "I didn't realize that you were offering shelter to Nanase-san and her friends..."  
  
Shingo sweats. "Aph-...ro-...di-...te!!" Ares growls.  
  
"I'm such a stinker at times!" Aphrodite blows the "cordite" from her fingers...  
  
* * *  
  
Galaxia scowls, seeing what happened from her own personal scrying glass. Wonderful. First a Sailor Terra, one immune to her star seed sapping power. Then doubles of ALL the Senshi, quite powerful and utterly ruthless in battle, one of whom could weld the Imperium Silver Crystal with the ease Sailor Moon demonstrated. Three of her Anima Mates restored to full life by means she couldn't understand. Now this black-caped, white-suited dimension-hopper who obviously was MUCH more powerful than he looked. Worst of all, one of the Reverend's Shingi Maidens had happily allowed Aphrodite to cleanse her of Chaos, all just to be with her friend.  
  
"You're right," a voice warns from behind her.  
  
The Golden Senshi spins to see Sailor Hades standing behind her. "Who...?!" she bolts off her throne.  
  
Hades smiles. "The Forever Knight IS more powerful than he looks," she turns away, then vanishes.  
  
Galaxia emits a guttural snarl. "Princess Galaxia," a voice inquires from behind her.  
  
She turns to see one of the younger Maidens, Onmitsu, standing there. A bright, deceptively cheery girl with flowing purple hair, she would definitely fit the role of First Maiden once Fushingi got around to choosing a replacement for Kurushimi. "Yes, what is it?"  
  
"I have a plan to deal with the Sailor Senshi...but I require your assistance on this matter," Onmitsu smiles.  
  
Finally, SOMEONE was getting back to business here! "What sort of assistance do you require?" Galaxia relaxes in her chair...  
  
* * *  
  
"You WANTED to have Aphrodite cleanse you?!!" Asuka gasps.  
  
Emiru nods, now sipping a cup of hot chocolate the Forever Knight had magically produced, saying something about getting it from a vendor in Zurich. Everyone, including Mrs. Haruna, now relaxes in the health station while Yuu Morii was being transported by the school nurse to the Juuban Medical Centre for treatment. "Aye," she nods, staring at her friend. "It was so lonely up there without you, Asuka-chan."  
  
Asuka blushes, then feels Ichiro's hand on her shoulder. "So you and Yuu used to work for the bastard Sailor Moon's after now, huh?!" he muses, then stares at his best friend. "Man, you're a lucky one, Shingo! Getting Sailor Moon to agree to let Yuu and Asuka-chan stay with you!"  
  
"Well, it's no problem in her eyes," Shingo shrugs, mentally adding, *Hey, she's my sister! What else would I've said?!*  
  
"What of the others you've captured?" Mrs. Haruna stares at Aphrodite and Ares. "There were one more captured in Sapporo..."  
  
"Two," Tetsuzo amends. "One other tried to kill the children Sailor Ginkaibijou, Sailor Enko and I were protecting. I suspect it was you who healed poor Wakana-chan of her disUnifying thoughts, ne?" she smiles sweetly at the Forever Knight.  
  
"Guilty as charged," he smiles. "Sending her through fifty different dimensions in three seconds can do that to a person."  
  
"Fifty dimensions in three seconds...?" Mrs. Haruna blinks.  
  
"They don't call me the Guardian of Infinity for nothing, Haruna-sensei," the Forever Knight smiles at her.  
  
The teacher whistles. "Okay, well, I'm sure Sailor Gaia would certify you as being free of the sub-creature Fushingi's influence, so we now have to determine where you'll stay," Ares sighs, getting the conversation back to Emiru's fate.  
  
"Mr. Yoneda, why don't you fetch Miss Hoshino another cup of hot chocolate," Mrs. Haruna stares at Asuka's would-be boyfriend.  
  
"Hai," he nods, then heads out.  
  
The teacher closes the door behind her, then stares at the Sailor Senshi. "If you want, Emiru can stay with me."  
  
"I take it you're aware of who some of the Senshi are," the Forever Knight hums knowingly.  
  
"Hard not to notice; I taught four of them in my own class," Mrs. Haruna smiles. "Not to mention yourself..."  
  
"No names," Aphrodite sighs, wagging her finger. "It'll spoil the surprise for a certain time guardian's birthday."  
  
"Okay, okay!" Mrs. Haruna laughs...  
  
* * *  
  
Later, Emiru is escorted by Ares, Aphrodite and Tetsuzo to the Tsukino home, where she'll stay until Mrs. Haruna got off work and could help the ex-Shingi Maiden settle in. Shingo, Yuu, Asuka and Ichiro return to class. Mrs. Haruna and the Forever Knight remain in the nursing station. "To believe I berated her so often for being late," she shakes her head. "How is Usagi handling this?"  
  
"Much better than you'd think," he sighs. "It took her a long while just to stop being scared when dealing with youma; at least that's what Sailor Hades has told me. These days, she's hell bent and determined to be strong enough to take them down no matter how powerful they are. It's a good sign."  
  
"How did you find out about them?"  
  
"Pretty well the same way Naru did; deduction," the Forever Knight reverts to Gurio Umino. "I can guess why; Usagi values both of us as her friends, but we were outside the 'permissable' limits of friends vis-a-vis Usagi's destiny as Sailor Moon, the Silver Millennium and Crystal Tokyo. Naru took big objection to that; hence, she's now Sailor Terra. So did I, but I had the fortune of falling in love with Sailor Pluto first."  
  
"I hear she's a bit...aloof," Mrs. Haruna gazes at him. Gurio had been one of her prize students, so she remembered him much more fondly than most others in that class. Ditto with Usagi, but that was for a whole host of other reasons.  
  
"She's not normally that way," Gurio hums, then heads out. "See you later, Haruna-sensei. Good luck with Emiru-chan."  
  
"I'll need it," she muses...  
  
* * *  
  
"Your plan is a sound one, Onmitsu."  
  
"Thank you, Reverend," Onmitsu bows to him. "Further, we are very fortunate. Sailor Pluto will celebrate her birthday tomorrow afternoon in Juuban. The Senshi who are now studying in America will be there, along with the other Senshi, their twins and most likely, this Forever Knight; we have heard comments about him being a 'birthday present' to Pluto bandied about. All we need to do, with Princess Galaxia's gracious help," she nods to the Golden Senshi, "...is seize their star seeds."  
  
"That could kill them," Fushingi muses.  
  
"Perhaps, Reverend."  
  
"You have doubts?"  
  
"I do," Onmitsu nods. "It is logical to assume that between the final act of the Sailor Wars and now, the Senshi have upgraded their powers to the point where the theft of their star seeds will not be physically terminal. Further, Sailor Terra seems versed in energy attacks designed to destroy other energy attacks. This plan does work on the hope that the star seeds will be restored to the Sailor Senshi...and by doing so, they will be under our power."  
  
Fushingi nods. "I like this very much, Onmitsu. Very well, you may proceed."  
  
"Reverend," she bows, then departs with Galaxia.  
  
The other Maidens gaze upon their leader. "Reverend, we have learned that there will be a large multi-faith rally at the Juuban Arena in three days time," another of the new breed, Junketsu, bows to him. "There, we can do much. And if Onmitsu's plan is a success, we could easily eliminate Sailor Moon then and there."  
  
"Very well," the dark preacher grins savagely. "Once their precious moon princess is gone, this whole planet will see how powerful Chaos really is! In the meantime, we must ascertain what has happened to Butsubutsu! I sensed her being severed from her sisters by the witch Aphrodite, but why did she go alone?!"  
  
"Reverend, we have no idea," one of the older Maidens, Kosokoso, a woman with black hair pulled back in a short ponytail, shakes her head. "By the time we noticed Butsubutsu gone, she was...eliminated," she looks down.  
  
The half-dozen other elder Maidens also look down. "Then find out what did happen!!" Fushingi snarls. "And I wanted the little survivors from our last Crusades killed! Do it!!"  
  
"Hai!!!" the seven Maidens bow, then leave.  
  
"Sir, is it wise to send them all out?" Junketsu wonders.  
  
"Perhaps it is, if Butsubutsu *voluntarily* left our fold," Fushingi icily smiles. "They know well what will happen to them if Butsubutsu did defect to Order's side and is allowed to get away. The fear of their own deaths will remind them well who is their true creator and master."  
  
The younger Maidens grin; they were too young, too innocent in their own way, to be afraid of Fushingi's veiled warning. Besides, how could you betray the one who created you, was in a sense of the term your own father? "Then may be demonstrate our loyalty to our creator and master?" Junketsu smiles.  
  
Fushingi nods...  
  
* * *  
  
"The others of Yuu-chan's generation are heading down now," Yuki advises everyone over the comm line from hers and Sakebu's home. "Part of the group will focus on killing Emiru-chan at Mrs. Haruna's residence. The other part is after the children the Salvation Senshi brought with them from their worlds over at Ayako-chan's place. Be ready."  
  
Michiru's face appears on the screen. "Yuki, Haruka and I are closest to Ayako and Matsuri. We'll go there right away to help out as soon as we drop Mame-chan off."  
  
"Hey, I can take care of myself, you know!" a protesting voice with an American West Coast accent calls from behind Michiru.  
  
"Relax, Mame-chan, we do this all the time," Haruka's voice calms their houseguest down.  
  
The screen is replaced by Naru. "Yuki, Haruna-sensei might not recognize some of the Sailor Senshi. Can you teleport up here to get Usagi-chan and I down? We can meet up with Ami-chan and Makoto-chan when we're down there."  
  
"Someone's on his way to get you down there now," Yuki sighs, cutting the line as the rustle of a cape announces the Forever Knight's departure...  
  
* * *  
  
"Eh?! What does she mean by that?!" Naru wonders.  
  
"She means me."  
  
Usagi and Naru see the Forever Knight standing in their dorm room. "Hey, who are you?!" the former gasps, crouching in a defensive stance, then blinks, her eyes widening in stunned recognition. "Gods...!"  
  
"Sorry, Usagi-chan, but a defenceless girl needs you now," he picks up his cape to sweep over them...  
  
* * *  
  
...and deposits the two right before the Haruna residence. "Wow, that was quick!" Naru gasps, then turns to see the Forever Knight has vanished. "And a quicker exit, I see."  
  
"Hey, who was the guy in the black cape?" a voice wonders.  
  
Mamoru, Ami, Makoto and Katsura race up. "A friend of Yuki-san's," Naru sighs, not wanting to spoil Setsuna's surprise either.  
  
"Company!!" Katsura's eyes glow, her eyes sweeping up.  
  
Bolts of black energy slam into neighbouring homes, the bellows of angry Haishin echoing from open windows. From up above, three Shingi Maidens land before the house, turning toward the front door...where Mrs. Haruna was now standing protectively before Emiru, a bokan stick in hand and ready. "We're needed!" Usagi hisses as everyone ducks into an alleyway to transform.  
  
"So there you are, Butsubutsu," Kosokoso hums as Haishin shuffle out of several homes to stand beside their creators. With her are Ajui, Kosokoso's sister, and Gyooshoo. All three Emiru knew well. "So, you decided that listening to those foolish dreams was more important to you than serving the Reverend, eh?!"  
  
"You have those same dreams...Kaho-chan," Emiru places an assuring hand on Mrs. Haruna's shoulder, then walks around her.  
  
Kosokoso shudders, glaring at her. "What did you call me?!"  
  
"Kaho-chan," Emiru smiles. "That's the name you chose for yourself if you should fall at the Senshi's hands: Kaho Sawatori. As your sister," she turns to Ajui, "...chose the name Honoka and as Gyooshoo," she looks to the third Maiden, "...has privately taken the name Rurika Endou for when her time comes."  
  
The three Maidens jolt, sensing the subtle psi-probes Emiru was still capable of using. "You will not corrupt us with your filth, Butsubutsu," Gyooshoo vows, her square-cut light brown hair shifting with the wind blowing through the street.  
  
"Who says she's corrupting you?!" a voice wonders from above.  
  
Eyes turn to see five Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen standing behind and above them on a house's roof. "I'd say Emiru-chan would want to LIBERATE you from what Fushingi made you out to be," Sailor Moon smiles dangerously. "So we'll help her."  
  
"In your dreams!!" Ajui, a woman with long strawberry blonde hair, snarls, then points. "Haishin, attack them!!! Kill!!!"  
  
"Terra, Sunaru and I've got the Maidens!!" Moon barks, snap-drawing the Lancer. "Rest of you, cover us!!! GO!!!!"  
  
With a leap, the three attacking Senshi soar over the Haishin to drop onto Mrs. Haruna's front lawn. Mercury, Jupiter and Tuxedo Kamen exchange stunned looks. "Since when does THIS happen?!" the caped knight wonders.  
  
"Worry about it later!!" Jupiter winds up, then lashes out. "***SUPREME THUNDER DRAGON!!!!!!***"  
  
Blasts of energy lash out to nail the Haishin as Moon, Terra and Sunaru close up on the Maidens, tackling them and sending them sprawling. The Haishin closest to them turn to assist, but bolts from the heavens scatter them. "This party private?!!" Sailor Diana wonders as she and Chronos dive into the fray.  
  
"Everyone's welcome to it!!" Moon grins, then catches Ajui with a roundhouse kick. "HIYAAAA!!!!"  
  
The Maiden slams into the stone fence around Mrs. Haruna's home, dropping hard. "Honoka-chan!!" Emiru races to her side.  
  
"Emiru-chan, be careful!!!" Mrs. Haruna gasps.  
  
Moon backs off to allow the cleansed Maiden a chance to talk to her friend. Tuxedo Kamen turns, noticing that Kosokoso was being pushed by Sunaru close to his fiance, then he leaps away from the Haishin to help the weather mistress. The Haishin he was busy detaining automatically turn to dogpile Sailor Moon. "Mamoru, you idiot, what are you doing?!!" Terra cold-cocks Gyooshoo, then draws her soulsword. "Keep them off Usagi-chan!!"  
  
The caped knight turns to see several flying at Sailor Moon just as she was about to turn. Hands flick a storm of roses to send them sprawling. Tuxedo Kamen curses himself, then gets back to keeping the other Haishin away. Moon sends him an I'll-talk-to-you-later look, then turns back to Emiru, who was now trying to help Ajui sit up. "Honoka-chan?!" she prods.  
  
Growling, Ajui grabs Emiru's throat, then rolls herself atop the surprised girl, a burning energy globe in the palm of her hand. "Now, you die, traitor!!!" she cocks her hand back.  
  
Emiru blinks, her eyes tearing, trying to see any sign of an awakening humanity within her friend. Ajui pauses, her eyes widening on seeing her tears, her heart churning as a voice inside her mind keeps chanting, *This is your friend! You can't kill her! This is your friend! You can't kill her!*  
  
"Honoka-chan..." Emiru smiles. "I love you..."  
  
Ajui shudders, the energy in her hands fizzling out as she screams, leaping off her friend. Turning, she sees Gyooshoo being nailed by Terra's soulsword, then bellowing, she leaps at the blazing blade. Two seconds later, she collapses to the ground beside the cleansed Gyooshoo, a sense of...relief?...in her eyes. "Honoka-chan!!! Rurika-chan!!!" Emiru races over to help them.  
  
By now, Sunaru has telekinetically shoved Kosokoso far enough from her target to allow Terra and Moon to come support. Diana and Chronos were presently helping Mercury, Jupiter and Tuxedo Kamen keep the remaining Haishin off their backs, those created by Kosokoso's companions having reverted when their mistresses had been cleansed, the poor souls now passed out on the ground. Moon draws the Lancer as she and Terra take ready stances, Sunaru backing away. "The choice is yours," Moon smiles. "You suffer like Asuka-chan did before we helped her join Yuu-chan...or you come over now."  
  
Kosokoso blinks, then watches Emiru and Mrs. Haruka fret over Rurika and Honoka, the love her fellow Shingi Maiden...and yes, her good friend...was showing for them quite obvious even to someone like her. Shuddering, realizing that no matter what, she went where her sister went, she lowers her hands. "Alright."  
  
Moon nods, sheathing the Lancer, then points the Crystal up. "***MOON COSMIC HEALING ACTIVATION!!!!!!***"  
  
A second later, Kaho collapses into Sunaru's arms as the last of the Haishin revert to normal. With potentially witnesses passed out or now passing out, Moon turns to Mrs. Haruka. "Can we move inside to help these three, Sensei?"  
  
"Sure, c'mon in!" the teacher opens the gate. "Gods, Usagi, are you ALWAYS this busy?!"  
  
Sailor Moon jolts, staring in shock at her former homeroom teacher. "YOU know now?!! Gods, at this rate, you might as well plaster my name in neon all over the city!!"  
  
The others laugh...  
  
* * *  
  
For Beans, this was NO laughing matter.  
  
The Oregon native had sworn, once she'd seen two good friends in their alternate identities try to deal with a lake god who only wanted to get back to where he was born the previous Hallowe'en, that she'd never delve too deep into the Sailor Senshi's business. That oath held when she had trapped a computer hacker from getting at Haruka's and Michiru's personal data, and stayed up when four of the Sailor Senshi Twins helped her and Michiru deal with a heckler. However, even knowing about the Twins' origins hadn't prepared the computer sciences sophomore for something like THIS!  
  
Presently, near a nice home in Juuban's west end, Uranus, Neptune, Aphrodite and Ares...Beans learned who she was when she met her life-mate sometime ago...along with three other strangely dressed women...one who had mouse ears and a TAIL, plus another who had ORANGE skin!...were facing four young girls in black evening gowns, all bearing weird tattoos on their faces, their eyes as black as night. Teenagers, for crying out loud! All of whom looked mad enough to kill. Around them were a company's worth of very BIG, very UGLY, very SCARY monsters who seemed ready to tear the district apart. Their targets, incredible as it sounded, were twelve little kids now inside this home.  
  
Beans wondered if the tabloids would believe THIS story!  
  
"You persist on living when Chaos claimed your pitiful race long ago!!" the leader of this band of alien women...Daraku, Beans had heard her name earlier...points at the Senshi's weird friends. For heaven's sake, she was as much a geek as Beans; you could tell by the dirty blonde hair drawn back by a headband and the reading glasses! "If you surrender now, we'll be very merciful."  
  
The three alien warriors exchange looks. "True, almost all our Great Schools are now within the Cosmic Chain of Life," the platinum blonde short one with the mouse ears and tail...Sailor Tetsuzo, Beans had guessed from her transformation phrase...crosses her arms, smugly smiling. "But it doesn't mean that OUR Great School will let you sub-creatures finish your disUnifying task!"  
  
Nendo-kata, Beans grins. You can always tell who they were because of those corny terms for the bad guys. "Too bad!!" Daraku winds up, then lashes out with a bolt of black energy!  
  
Beans blinks as the bolt slams into Tetsuzo without her making a move. If she was like the other Senshi, she could've jumped clear of that with no problem. Were her powers defensive?  
  
Tetsuzo yawns. "Interesting...in a primitive way."  
  
The evil geek was obviously badly shaken up by Tetsuzo's inaction; Beans guessed that's how she and her buddies turned the neighbours into the big uglies now with them. "How...?!"  
  
"Your power affects one's faith," Tetsuzo smiles. "Nendo-kata have no faith. We have the Truth to guide us."  
  
Beans smiles as the other platinum blonde in the blue suit and the orange-skinned one in the tanned leather suit...Ginkaibijou and Enko, she remembered...spread out, Ares and Aphrodite also moving out as back up. Uranus and Neptune fall back to cover the doorway to their home...and their friend. "Truth?!!" a girl with long dark grey hair and braded sideburns snarls. "What Truth?!!"  
  
"You could succeed in killing us, Manami-chan," Enko stares at her, causing the Shingi Maiden to jolt.  
  
"But you can never escape from those who will come to destroy you," Ginkaibijou adds.  
  
"You can never hide, you will always be confronted and some way, somehow, you will be destroyed," Ares completes.  
  
"That is not Faith, Manami-chan," Tetsuzo smiles. "That is the one unshakable Truth of the Universe."  
  
"Time for a little heartbreak," Aphrodite snickers, her eyebrows wriggling. "Of course you know, this means war."  
  
Beans guffaws. Ayako always said Bugs Bunny's crazy battle line when she wanted to party. Suddenly, space beside her opens to reveal a pretty handsome guy with curly brown hair and blue eyes appear, now in a white tux and a black cape, a white mask covering his face. In his hand was a big-ass sceptre-mace that also seemed to be the scabbard for a sword, a red ruby jewel at the other end. "Catch, Aphrodite! Compliments of Sailor Moon!!" he tosses it.  
  
"Great!" Aphrodite grabs the Crystal, then before the Shingi Maidens could react, winds up. "***HEART PASSION NOVA!!!!!!***"  
  
A blaze of rose-red energy balls, shaped into large hearts, lashes out, barely clipping Tetsuzo and Ginkaibijou before swamping the four girls in the gowns!! Beans blinks as their clothes, face tattoos and the black in their eyes is burned away, revealing causal civilians and pretty hazel eyes. Must be normal for their kind. Behind and around them, the BEMs vaporize, reverting into a sea of normal people mostly in night clothes, now passing out from the shock of being possessed. "Not bad!" she whistles, then looks at the guy in the tux. "This pretty normal for them?"  
  
"Somewhat," he doffs his white stovepipe hat at her, then waves his cape...and vanishes, reappearing on street level to teleport the four captured Maidens into the home.  
  
"Let's get inside before the police get here to ask questions about us," Uranus relaxes.  
  
The other Senshi and Beans head inside, the American's hosts reverting to normal as the door closes behind their friend. "I'll get this back to Sailor Moon," the Forever Knight takes the Crystal from Ayako, then doffs his hat. "Pleasure meeting you, Mame-chan."  
  
He vanishes. To Beans, it reminds her of a classic "Star Trek" episode where the hologram of a military officer who was guarding an alien base the "Enterprise" discovered would vanish; the mass warps into a thin vertical line, then blinks out. All you needed was the background fanfare. "I take it he's a friend of yours, right?" she turns to Haruka and Michiru.  
  
"Actually, we just met him tonight, though Ayako and Matsuri seem to know who he is," Michiru admits.  
  
"Sorry, we can't tell just yet," Ayako smirks as she walks into the kitchen to warm up tea for their new guests. "It's a big surprise...for Setsuna most of all."  
  
Haruka and Michiru exchange very surprised looks. "How can you surprise Setsuna?" Beans wonders.  
  
"Get Yuki to lean on her for a bit; works every time," Matsuri smiles as she and the Salvation Senshi tend to the wounded.  
  
Beans sighs, crossing her arms. "Geez, you guys really do live exciting lives, don't you?" she gazes at her mathematics partner and her life-mate.  
  
"Stick around, Mame-chan," Haruka snickers. "You'll see how exciting things can get around here."  
  
"Like it says on my shirt," Beans hums. "Byte me, Haruka!"  
  
"Speaking of which, this is for you," Matsuri grabs a package from a coffee table, then tosses it to the American.  
  
"Hey, what's this?!" Beans blinks, then rips it open to reveal several green T-shirts her size with BYTE ME in red computer print and katakana on the front. Michiru *glares* at Matsuri as the American hugs her gift, grateful tears streaming down. "Aw, you guys are too much!!"  
  
"Anytime, Beans," Matsuri smiles, again falling into the habit of using the American's real name; the Shingi Maidens were passed out, the others here were obviously Nendo-kata and Haruka and Michiru already knew their friend's secret. "Lucky thing Nareta-chan gave us the mental projection of your clothes when she and Ayako-chan visited Michiru-chan last month."  
  
"I'll *talk* with my sister about that later," Michiru huffs.  
  
* * *  
  
"The Nendo-kata...?!"  
  
What sort of cosmic joke was THAT?!?!  
  
Fushingi shudders, staring at the image of Ayako making a pot of tea in the kitchen of their home. Suddenly, the passion mistress' eyes glow as she turns her head, staring seemingly at the dark priest's face, giving him a red-eye and sticking her tongue out before taking the tea out to her friends.  
  
"What are these things?!" Onmitsu shudders.  
  
Galaxia mentally echoes the question. If Ayako had the power to sense them when she was normal, how powerful was she when she was Sailor Aphrodite? "A race that has lived and haunted this universe for a hundred millennia as Terrans tell time," the dark priest snarls. "From another galaxy, Princess Galaxia," he then stares at the Golden Senshi. "Where they go, no matter what, they always go out and destroy anyone who dares bring the cleansing winds of Chaos to those who love Order too much."  
  
"Then...how did they come to be here?!" Galaxia demands. "How did they restore three of my Anima Mates?! How?!!"  
  
"No doubt by that Crossing Over ritual of their's," Fushingi sighs. Having never actually met a Nendo-kata...he had heard of them through exchanges with other Reverends...he is now confirming things through probing the thoughts of the American woman Beans; she had mind-melded with Sailor Uranus' twin sometime before to learn their story. "To them, a lifetime devotion to hunting those such as we is a good life. Indeed, to them, their faith IS Truth; they'd rather die than be corrupted by Chaos."  
  
"Then we will kill them," Galaxia grins.  
  
Fushingi nods. "Aye. We will do that...once you have brought the original Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen...to our side."  
  
The Golden Senshi nods...  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	4. Part 4 - Contagion of Chaos

"Hey, what are you doing, creep?!!"  
  
Miyuki Yamamoto...a bespectacled girl with pulled-back light brown hair and hazel eyes, one of the four Maidens who was captured and converted by Aphrodite not twelve hours before...stares at Yuu as she tries to pick up a card from the deck. "Yuu-chan, Miyuki-chan can do that, remember?" Shingo gazes at his girlfriend.  
  
Yuu blinks, then gazes innocently at her beloved. "She can?"  
  
"Hai, she can. Let Miyuki-chan play."  
  
"Er...okay," Yuu sits down, then gazes at her cards.  
  
Miyuki sighs, takes up a card, then discards another. Beans looks at the combo in the girl's hand. Ace, king, queen, ten and two, the first four all hearts. All she needed was the jack of hearts and it'd be a royal flush. Yuu picks up a card, discards another, then shows her hand to her boyfriend. Cute couple, Beans muses. "Your turn," she whispers to Miyuki.  
  
"Hai," Miyuki pulls up another card from the deck. Jack of hearts. The two exchange nods, then Miyuki lays the hand down. "Royal flush!"  
  
"No way!!" Usagi gapes as Yuu places her hand down.  
  
Three of a kind and a pair. "Not a bad hand, Yuu," Beans stares at Shingo's girlfriend...who was now crying. "Hey, it's just a game, huh!! Relax!! It's okay!"  
  
"You don't understand, Mame-san," Miyuki smiles at her. "Yuu and I've played nearly countless games over our lifetime. She's never once won against me...when she wasn't cheating, that is!" she winks at a red-faced Yuu.  
  
"One day, Miyuki! One day!!" Yuu wags her finger.  
  
Beans chuckles, looking around the Tsukino home. The Shingi Maidens captured by the Sailor Senshi were relaxing, chatting with their new friends. Rushing through the crowd was Taeko Hosaka (another of the four captured by Ayako), a sweet girl with her brown hair in short pigtails behind her ears, refilling everyone's glasses with punch. The last two of that group, Akira Sugihara (a wavy blonde with a red headband) and Manami Adachi, were chatting with Rei, Chie and her date Yuuichirou.  
  
"Feeling well, Beans?" a voice wonders as a light weight lands on her shoulder.  
  
Beans turns to see Luna sitting there, gazing intently into the American's eyes. Of all the things she had learned about the Senshi, this was about as mind-blowing as the Nendo-kata: a talking cat. "What would you think?"  
  
"Well, for one who has a fish tank with a lake god and the spirit of Katsura's mother in her room at university, this should seem quite normal," Luna seems to smile.  
  
"You want to know what really blew me away?"  
  
"What?" Luna blinks.  
  
"That your leader is actually named 'rabbit of the moon,'" Beans' eyebrows wriggle, switching to English.  
  
Luna sighs. "There are times I think that is what she is."  
  
Those around Beans who spoke English notice the mirth in her voice, then return to what they were doing. "Well, that's not as bad as your nickname," Mamoru chuckles, sitting beside Yuu.  
  
"You must be Tuxedo Kamen, right?" Beans hums.  
  
"Hai," Mamoru draws a rose, then hands it to her.  
  
"Thank you," the American smiles.  
  
"How come you don't allow people to use your real name?"  
  
Beans shrugs. "Hey, it's my choice! My family, my close friends," she gazes at Haruka and Michiru, now chatting with Wakana and Emiru, "...and the Nendo-kata know it, know not to use it with other people around and I'm happy."  
  
"Choice is yours," Mamoru nods.  
  
"Could you answer me a question?"  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"If you're supposed to be Earth's guardian, how come there's a Sailor Terra?" Beans nods to Naru, happily gabbing away with Usagi, Nona and Chooko by the stairs to the upper floor.  
  
Mamoru sighs. "You might say that Naru...is above a Senshi."  
  
"Above a Senshi?"  
  
"Yes," Luna nods. "Unlike Mamoru, Usagi and the others, Naru wasn't resurrected from a previous life in the Silver Millennium. However, as Usagi's best friend from this lifetime, the Senshi felt it was only right that Naru be permitted to remain with her friend. Hence, we obtained the help of a friend to give Naru her own power. Nicole...made Naru very powerful."  
  
"Yeah, Haruka told me about that on the flight in," Beans muses. "She fought this Galaxia girl right to a standstill."  
  
"Indeed, that was shocking," Luna admits. "Galaxia is equal in power to Usagi, yet Naru defeated her without problem. We've yet to ask Nicole why this was possible."  
  
"Unless Nicole configured Naru's powers with Galaxia in mind," Mamoru muses.  
  
Beans hums, remembering Haruka's and Michiru's pained words concerning the Senshi's first fight with Galaxia. "What was it like?" she hums. "I mean...having that thing taken from you?"  
  
Mamoru's eyes are bleak. "Helplessness like you wouldn't believe, Mame-san. Knowing this woman...who, mind you, was deep down a very good person who was caught in a very bad position, corrupted by Chaos to hunt all living Senshi down to conquer the galaxy...was stalking Usako..."  
  
Shuddering, he wipes his eyes. "You still have problems with Usagi and her training," Luna calmly observes.  
  
"Wouldn't you?" Mamoru hums.  
  
"Aren't we the gallant knight?" Beans smiles. "Mamoru, look. I can see where Usagi's coming from. If my boyfriend was badly hurt defending me, I'd feel pretty awful. That's not supposed to happen in this day and age. I don't know much about this destiny of yours, but Usagi deep down might be asking 'What did I do to deserve a very nice guy like this, not to mention very nice friends like these, protecting me?' Ever thought of that?"  
  
"Not...really," Mamoru hums.  
  
"She's here!!!" Sakebu calls from the doorway.  
  
Lights snap off. Everyone braces themselves as the front door opens to reveal a tall woman with long hair partially rolled in a ball over the back of her head. Lights snap on to reveal a...to Beans' total surprise...very shocked Setsuna. "***SURPRISE!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SETSUNA-CHAN!!!!!!***"  
  
Yuki stands behind the time guardian, whose cheeks are now reddening from everyone's wishes. "I see why you asked me to not watch over the Time Gate for this day," Setsuna hums.  
  
"Hey, you deserve a surprise, too," Yuki laughs...  
  
* * *  
  
"Indeed you do, time dancer," Reverend Fushingi smiles, then nods at Onmitsu and Galaxia.  
  
Both bow, then withdraw...  
  
* * *  
  
"Faith No More"  
a tale of the Sailor Senshi  
by Fred Herriot  
fherriot@yahoo.com  
**** **** ****  
Edited by E.B. Kushnir  
kush1@iaw.on.ca  
**** **** ****  
Based on "Sailor Moon," created by Naoko Takeuchi  
**** **** ****  
  
PART FOUR - CONTAGION OF CHAOS  
  
"Here you go, Setsuna," Beans hands a bucket over.  
  
"What's this?" the time guardian blinks, then with some help from Yuki, opens the bucket and gets showered with packing peanuts.  
  
"Oh, no, Mame-chan, you didn't...!" Haruka winces.  
  
"Hai, I did," Beans winks.  
  
"What is this?" Artemis wonders.  
  
"The Bucket O' Goodies," Beans explains. "The nastiest trick anyone of my family can play on anyone else."  
  
"What did I do to deserve this?" Setsuna mutters, then reaches in to pull up a ball of wrapped yarn the size of a volleyball.  
  
"Oh, I get it now!" Makoto smiles. "It's a sweater! You just gotta knit it now."  
  
Everyone laughs. Setsuna sighs, then finding the end of the yarn, begins to undo the wrapping. After a half-hour...and layers of yarn, packing peanuts, more yarn, duct tape, little green army soldiers and uncut keys, she got to the polymer ball...which had a beautiful dark grey key with a red ruby at one end within. Not even a close imitation of her Time Key, but for Setsuna, it was a very nice gesture. "Beans, this is beautiful!" she smiles.  
  
"How long did you work to wrap it up?!" Ami wonders.  
  
"Three days," Beans smiles, then looks at Haruka. "How long did it take you and Michiru to unwrap your gifts at Christmas?"  
  
"About forty-five minutes, I think," Haruka hums.  
  
"And I unwrapped mine first," Michiru muses.  
  
Haruka's eyebrow twitches. "Evil woman."  
  
Everyone laughs, then Setsuna turns to her sister, a touch of annoyance in her eyes. "So, you mind finally telling me what your present is?! The one you made me stay away from the Time Gate for three days to prepare, then made me promise not to see into the future for this day?!"  
  
"Why are you so upset?" Yuki muses. "The Guardian kept an eye on things while you were gone. Besides, you hardly ever take a vacation from your duties, Setsu-chan. You needed the break."  
  
Setsuna sighs, gazing helplessly at her friends. "So what's the present?" Usagi wonders.  
  
"More a 'who' than a 'what,' Usagi-chan," Yuki winks, then calls out, "Would you care to join us, please?!"   
  
Everyone turns to a clear spot on the floor, where a vertical line forms, then blows out into a man in a white tuxedo and black cape. "Sorry I'm late," the Forever Knight doffs his hat.  
  
"Who are you...no way!!" Makoto gapes.  
  
The other Inner Senshi also gape, recognizing their former classmate under the tux and cape. The Outer Senshi blink confusedly. The Twins and Naru grin. He chuckles, then draws off his mask, replacing it with round-frame glasses...as the Forever Knight reverts to Gurio Umino. "Happy Birthday, Setsu-chan."  
  
If it took a lot to shock Ayako, it was nigh impossible to get Setsuna. But Yuki did. "Gurio...?!" she stammers, then stumbles into his arms, joyful tears streaming down her face. "GURIO!!!!"  
  
"How?!!" Usagi turns to Yuki.  
  
"Well, I needed help on this one, so I asked the Guardian of Forever to do to Gurio what he did to Setsuna back in the Silver Millennium," Yuki muses.  
  
"'Guardian of Forever?'" Beans wonders. "You mean this big bagel-shaped thing that was on a 'Star Trek' episode once...?!"  
  
"Hai, the same," Yuki grins. "He admitted to me that Ellison-sensei and Roddenberry-sensei were very forward-thinking when they came up with the idea for that episode."  
  
"NO...WAY!!!!" Beans gapes.  
  
Everyone laughs. "If it exists, Yuki-chan knows about it or can find out about it," Sakebu beams.  
  
"So what is your job, anyway?" Minako turns to Gurio.  
  
"Easily explained," Gurio smiles. "Setsu-chan is in charge of keeping an eye on 'what was' and 'what will be.' Yuki-chan is in charge of the 'why.' I watch over 'what is.' I call it Infinity since there are an infinite amount of dimensions I can travel to."  
  
"Whoa!!" Usagi whistles. "Geez, what next, I wonder?!"  
  
Rei and Matsuri tense as a distant explosion rocks the house. "We got other things to worry about first!" the former looks out a window to see a miasmic cloud billow from near Juuban High School.  
  
"Oh, brother, doesn't this idiot ever give up?!" Minako sighs.  
  
"Who cares?!" Ayako grins. "It's heartbreak time!"  
  
* * *  
  
Two minutes later, the Forever Knight warps the Sailor Senshi, Tuxedo Kamen and the Salvation Senshi, plus Beans, Chie and Wakana, to a building overlooking Juuban High School, which is now being swarmed by a battalion's worth of Haishin. "Wonderful!!" Sailor Moon grimaces. "What a way to wreck a birthday party!"  
  
"Wait, there's something wrong here!" Chie holds up her hand. "I don't sense any of the Maidens here!!"  
  
"Someone better keep an eye on the others back at the house," Beans hums, finding herself getting into the swing of things despite earlier vows. "If this Fushingi asshole is plenty pissed over losing half his troops like that..."  
  
"Good point," Moon nods. "Hades, Knight, Gaia, you go back to watch over everyone else. Mame-chan, you should go back, too. This isn't gonna be pretty."  
  
"Hey, in for a pint, in for a pound," Beans winks. "'Sides, part of me's always wanted to see you in action."  
  
Moon nods. "We can protect her," Chie smiles, indicating herself, then Wakana.  
  
"Okay," Moon sighs. "Terra, hang back in case Galaxia shows up! Rest of you, let's go!!"  
  
The Forever Knight, Hades and Gaia vanish to the Tsukino residence as everyone else leaps the chasm to Juuban High, finding themselves neck-deep in Haishin. Instantly, the battle is joined. "Oh, man, I wish I had a camera!" Bean whistles. "No one back home'd believe any of this!!"  
  
* * *  
  
"I should be there with them," Yuu frets.  
  
"Yuu, there's little you can do," the Forever Knight warns.  
  
"But if Galaxia comes, I can try to change her back," Yuu gazes at him. "I'm the one who converted her to the Reverend's cause, Gurio. Please, let me try."  
  
A pained look crosses his face. "Yuu, I know how much you care for us now...but there are certain things that have to happen in a certain way," he looks down.  
  
"What do you mean...?" Yuu's eyes widen as her empathic senses pick up...remorse?...from the Forever Knight. "No..."  
  
"This isn't easy for us," Hades sighs. "But if Crystal Tokyo is to come into being...the Silver Millennium must finally die."  
  
"Wait a moment!!" Artemis leaps down beside her. "What do you mean?! They are the same...!"  
  
"They are not the same, Artemis," Hades gazes sadly at the cat. "The Silver Millennium had very great weaknesses within it, weaknesses that allowed the Dark Kingdom to overwhelm it. Most of those are weaknesses of the spirit, a fixation on beliefs and traditions that haunt the Sailor Senshi right to this day. Thanks in part to the coming of Sailor Terra, the Twins and the Forever Knight, Sailor Moon has already made a profound first step towards rectifying that. The others have to do it, too."  
  
"At what cost?" Luna blinks.  
  
"All good things come at cost, Luna," Hades bites her lips...  
  
* * *  
  
"HIYAAA!!!!" Moon crescent-kicks a Haishin, then belts him with a Moon Energy Dart Storm. Looking around, she notices that half the monsters are still up. "How is everyone?!!"  
  
"Handling it good, Sailor Moon!!" Jupiter throws off another Haishin, then unleashes the Oak Evolution.  
  
Pained bellows rage from the monsters as they disintegrate, morphing back to normal. By that time, enough of a safety zone has been cleared to allow Chie, Wakana and Beans across to administer first aid. "Wait a moment!" Aphrodite gets three with the Mixed Passion Attack. "Where're the Shingi Maidens?!"  
  
Mercury looks around, scanner visor down. "I still don't detect any of them around!" she warns. "Hermes?!"  
  
"Nothing I've seen," Hermes lances one with the Thousand Knives Strike, then belts it with the Hyperspeed Acceleration.  
  
Moon tenses, then her eyes widen. "We've been set up!!!"  
  
"How right you are, Sailor Moon!"  
  
Lightning flares, revealing Galaxia hovering several metres off the ground, arms crossed, a gleeful smile splitting her face. "I take it that's Galaxia, right?" Beans wonders.  
  
"Hai, she is," Chie grimaces.  
  
"What do you want, Galaxia?!" Moon draws the Crystal, hand falling to the Lancer's hilt.  
  
Galaxia tenses. "What do you think, Sailor Moon...?!"  
  
Her voice is cut off as twin geysers of energy race at her. "***GALACTICA TSUNAMI!!!!!!***" Ginkaibijou howls.  
  
"***DEATH HYPNOSIS PARALYSIS!!!!!!***" Enko adds.  
  
Galaxia leaps clear...only to find herself knocked back by some sweet chin music from Tetsuzo! "That was for using us like a puppet, you uncaring bitch!!!" the iron maiden falls back to the roof, tensing herself as the Golden Senshi makes a four-point landing near the other Senshi.  
  
Growling, Galaxia bolts up, then fires her wrist-bracelets. The bolts scream at Tetsuzo, whose eyes glow, telekinetic bubbles catching and collapsing on the energy balls to destroy them. "Nice try," the Wanderer chuckles. "We're very hard to kill!"  
  
"Maybe you...but not THEM!!!!" Galaxia spins around.  
  
Moon gasps as the bolts lash out, homing like missiles on the original Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen. "NO!!!!!!" she screams as star seeds form over their heads.  
  
Galaxia howls with glee as the seeds fly into her hands, the nine victimized warriors dropping like marionettes with their strings cut to the floor. "HARUKA!!!! MICHIRU!!!!" Beans bolts up, racing over to the stilled Uranus and Neptune.  
  
"Oh, so easy!!" the Golden Senshi laughs, staring at the little girl trying to help her friend up, then soars off.  
  
Moon tenses, gazing at her friends. Not vanishing this time...probably thanks to Nicole's improvements on their powers sometime ago...but they were as still as corpses. Glaring at the laughing Galaxia, she snarls as the Lancer is drawn, the Crystal returning to hyperspace as she assumes a ready stance. "You witch, try that with me!!!" she threatens.  
  
Galaxia's eyes narrow. There was something dangerous about the sword in Moon's hands, a danger that would badly hurt people like her. Very clever, she grins. She never thought Moon had it in her. "Not yet," she forms a chair to relax on. "I intend to watch you suffer at the loss of your friends, first."  
  
Moon blinks, then glances over to see Beans shaking Uranus. "C'mon, Haruka, get up!!" the American barks. "Usagi needs you!! Get up, you idiot!!! GET UP!!!!" No response. Beans shudders, then feels for a heartbeat. It was barely there. "Haruka...!"  
  
Moon sighs, then stares at Galaxia. "Why?! Wasn't once enough?! Where's your dedication to protect others?!!"  
  
"Where did it get me?!" Galaxia snorts. "It nearly got me killed! I'm not going to allow that to happen to me again!!"  
  
The pretty warrior pales, horrified that Fushingi had twisted the other warrior so badly. Fine. Goad her into an attack, then let the Lancer or Sailor Terra do the rest.  
  
"Then...you...are...no...longer...a...Senshi!"  
  
Galaxia's eyes flare, then she leaps to the roof ten paces from Sailor Moon. "I'll show you how much a Senshi I am!!!"  
  
"Come and get me!!" Moon taunts.  
  
Howling, Galaxia sends a blast of power her way. Telekinetic shields from the Twins and the Salvation Senshi divert the energy into the remaining Haishin, bowling them over and reverting them back to normal. Watching this from the top of the hut covering the stairwell several paces behind Moon, Terra grins, her fingertips glowing as psychic energy forms into nine intense beams of crystal shattering energy. "Sucker!" she locks on target. "***EARTH, MERCURY, VENUS, MARS, JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS, NEPTUNE, PLUTO!!!! SPIRIT-BREAKER SOLAR SYSTEM FIRE STORM!!!!!!***"  
  
Galaxia screams as the bolts slam into her, shattering the crystals in her hand as the power flows back into the original Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen. Moans escape them as they try to recover, the Golden Senshi staggering as Moon leaps for the kill. "Time to pay the piper!!!" she aims the Lancer at Galaxia's heart...  
  
...just as the Golden Senshi vanishes! Moon screams as the Lancer slams into the roof, cutting a large gash in the concrete, then she bolts back up, looking around. "Find her, Ares!!!"  
  
"She's gone!!" Ares' eyes glow. "All the Haishin, too!"  
  
By then, Uranus is crawling onto her knees, being helped up by Sunaru and Beans. "Wha...what happened...?" she shakes her head, gazing at her classmate. "Hey, Mame-chan, you okay?"  
  
"You guys work too hard," Beans fails to hold back her tears.  
  
"Yeah...with no pay, too..." Uranus sighs, then feels her strength drain.  
  
The Forever Knight then appears. "Let's get them to Rei's shrine," Sailor Moon gazes at the guardian of Infinity. "They can be better cared for there instead of my house."  
  
"Got it," he nods, reaching down to pick Pluto up...  
  
* * *  
  
"Something about this stinks!"  
  
"Eh?! What do you mean, Beans?" Usagi stares at her.  
  
The dazed Senshi and Mamoru now lay on beds in Hikawa Jinja's sacred fire room. Matsuri tends the fire as Sakebu walks around, ensuring that her patients are all okay, assisted by several of the former Shingi Maidens. Taeko was busy fetching snacks. The other Twins, Gurio, Naru and the Salvation Senshi relax by Usagi. "This whole fight reeks to high heaven!" the American fumes, continuing her pacing. "If Galaxia needs star seeds to gain enough power to do whatever she wants, why didn't she split right after she got everyone here?!" she indicates the nine prostrate forms nearby.  
  
"Usagi-chan, Mame-chan has a point," Naru's eyes widen. "Galaxia must've known that I'd have a power to return the star seeds to everyone, so why do this in the first place?"  
  
Usagi blinks, then pales. "We've been set up..."  
  
"For what?!" Nona stares at her sister.  
  
Rising, Usagi walks over to Chie. "Chie-chan, can you sense if the Reverend somehow got to the others through Galaxia?"  
  
"I already have," Chie forlornly nods. "Hai, it's happened."  
  
"What do you mean?!" Yuuichirou looks up from Rei.  
  
"It happened when their power was stolen by Galaxia, Yuu-kun," Chie gazes at the former rock singer. "Somehow, the bracelets she uses to take star seeds were altered to corrupt the star seed when it is taken. Even though Naru's energy attack worked and restored them to normal...the damage was done."  
  
"How?!" Usagi wonders.  
  
"How do we normally hurt people?" Chie shrugs. "We destroy the foundations of their faith in all around them."  
  
"Rei would be the most badly hurt because of it..." Naru muses, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.  
  
"Not just religion, Naru," Chie stares at her. "*Faith.* Faith in friends, faith in loved ones, faith in the safety of one's surroundings...faith in EVERYTHING around them!"  
  
"I see what you mean," Beans muses. "In America, with the riots after the raids on churches and places like that, everyone's been setting up barriers to protect themselves. Gun stores are being emptied. In fact, a bunch of riots in the bigger cities've been attributed to a simple argument between two or more people that got deadly because guns were involved."  
  
"You Americans and your Second Amendment," Chooko shakes her head. "Is it any wonder some people don't like you, don't want to live in America...?"  
  
"Chooko-chan, enough!!" Nona snaps before Beans can retaliate, then rises. "This is disUnity at its worst! We...we can't trust any of them now!!" she gazes at the unconscious Senshi and Mamoru.  
  
"They can't trust us," Ayako sighs. "We're newcomers to this game. So're Naru-chan and Gurio-kun. Before, we never had a part to play in their destiny."  
  
"The creation of Crystal Tokyo, you mean," Matsuri hums.  
  
"Hai," the passion mistress nods.  
  
"Still, it's no real problem," Naru muses, then points to Usagi. "They still trust Usagi-chan."  
  
"Will they?" Usagi muses.  
  
Eyes lock on her. "Hey, they're some of your best friends, Usagi," Beans smiles. "They've fought for you loads of times..."  
  
"That's right, Mame-chan, they've fought FOR me," Usagi looks at her. "Damn, Ataru was right! I should've listened to him!!"  
  
"What's Ataru-kun got to do with this?!" Naru blinks.  
  
"Before we started with Teach, Ataru warned me that if I changed myself too much before they could adjust, they'd resent it and start to distance themselves from me," Usagi points to herself. "Remember, in the Silver Millennium, I was the Princess. They were my bodyguards," she points to the Senshi.  
  
"But you can fight better now; we've no objections to it, Usagi-chan!" Nona insists.  
  
"I know and I don't mind that!" Usagi shakes her head. "To you Nendo-kata, fighting for Unity is a natural thing. To Naru-chan, fighting for Life is a natural thing. To them, fighting for their Princess...for me...is natural," she points to the original Senshi and Mamoru. "We've already seen it with Rei! When she saw my new uniform, she freaked right out!"  
  
"I remember that," Naru nods.  
  
"So what do we do?" Junko wonders. "Let Ayako-chan cut loose with the Passion Nova? That'd work big time."  
  
"No, it won't," Ayako sighs. "Emotions are my sole area of expertise, Junko-chan. This is Faith, the belief in oneself and one's surroundings. Not all of that's emotion, Junko-chan. Some of it is cold logic and I'm helpless in that department."  
  
Silence falls as that grim statement sinks in...  
  
* * *  
  
"You are not hurt, are you, Galaxia?"  
  
"I'm quite fine, Reverend," Galaxia bows. "Sailor Moon and Sailor Terra behaved as we planned. The originals and Tuxedo Kamen are now in your hands."  
  
"Good," the dark priest grins. "Now, we'll see..."  
  
* * *  
  
"It's happening now," the Forever Knight sighs.  
  
Sailor Hades nods. Both now stood on the Rock of Infinity, gazing with their eyes and hearts as nine good friends were being rocked with nightmare after nightmare concerning their relationship with Sailor Moon. "Yeah, it's happening," the guardian of Eternity sighs, then stares at her companion. "Why didn't you protect her?"  
  
The guardian of Infinity grimaces, staring at his beloved in her apartment in Juuban, tossing to and fro from a particularly nasty vision of a future without Crystal Tokyo. "She can't learn from this experience by standing on the side. Of the originals, her faith in Usagi as the Princess of the Silver Millennium is by far the strongest...and thus the easiest to pervert."  
  
"She could've warned herself," Hades muses.  
  
"Yeah, she could've," the Forever Knight smiles. "But even with her responsibilities to Time, Setsuna is still a human being. Even with her dedication...she can still make mistakes."  
  
"So can we."  
  
"Yeah. So can we."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Ami gently forces the cookie cutter through the dough, making dozens of small treats for her friends. Her mother, alerted to her daughter's condition by Usagi the previous night, took the day off work to be with her. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm alright, Mother," Ami forces a smile, then begins to extract the unneeded dough from the pan.  
  
With that, her mother slips it into the oven. "You best lay down and get some sleep, Ami," she sighs. "Nearly losing your life is harsh enough on anyone."  
  
"Hai, it is," Ami nods. "Still, I'm glad we don't remember those episodes. The Silver Crystal, I guess..."  
  
A finger lands on her forehead. "Lay DOWN, young lady!!" Mrs. Mizuno orders. "That's not from your mother, that's also from a doctor! Even we know when to rest and relax!!"  
  
"Hai," Ami nods, then heads to her bedroom. Once there, she lays down, then looks around for her books. All gone. Tsuyako or her mother must've been by to hide them and ensure Ami did get some rest. Biting her lips as the usual urge to study hard drains, she lays back, then turns on the radio to an all-news station.  
  
"...did you hear about last night?!" a deejay muses. "Sailor Moon really took care of things at Juuban High School! Let's hear your comments! Go ahead, caller."  
  
"Hi," a teenage woman's voice responds. "I'd just like to say how nice it is that Sailor Moon is doing so much for all of us. Is it true that she's got herself a new uniform?"  
  
"Well, it's been heavily modified from her so-called 'Eternal' look," another man, clearly an "expert" on the Senshi, responds. "The removal of the wings and the remaking of the boots into solid heels gives her a increased degree of mobility when it comes to fighting monsters. Atop that, you have her new energy attacks..."  
  
"And her Moon Lancer sword," the deejay adds.  
  
"That especially!" the expert replies. "Plus, you have the new martial arts she's demonstrating. This is a lady who learns from her mistakes very quickly."  
  
"Well, she was always that way," the caller cuts in.  
  
"Not really," the expert sighs. "You must remember, the original five...Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus...were all around fourteen when they first began work; much earlier in Venus' case when she was just Sailor V. Fourteen is a very young age to start growing up in the midst of a war."  
  
"You can say that again," Ami muses.  
  
"Thank you, caller. What about her new aggressiveness?" the deejay wonders. "I mean, in past fights, we've seen Sailor Moon waiting for the monster to be taken down before destroying it with her Silver Crystal. Now, she's in the thick of things right from the start. How does this affect the Senshi, for example?"  
  
"It depends," the expert replies. "Now, if we believe the whole story of the Silver Millennium...and it is quite plausible given past evidence...then Sailor Moon was the crown princess of that realm, Tuxedo Kamen was her intended and the Sailor Senshi her bodyguards. Obviously, that is a powerful mindset for the Senshi to overcome. In previous battles, yes; Sailor Moon held back until someone defeated the monster before destroying it. Now, as you say, she's right there in the thick of things, leading the charge. For the other Senshi, this must be very disorientating..."  
  
Ami shudders, then clicks off the radio. "Yes, it is..."  
  
* * *  
  
"You really shouldn't listen to that, you know."  
  
Makoto blinks, then stares quizzically at Katsura as they and Wakana clean up from breakfast...  
  
* * *  
  
"Minako-chan, come back to bed, please," Junko dreamily sighs, reaching over to shut the radio off, then gently draws Minako back under the covers...  
  
* * *  
  
"It's happening just like I predicted, Gurio-kun," Setsuna stares at the radio, allowing Gurio's arms to wrap around her.  
  
"Maybe," he kisses her.  
  
"You don't believe?"  
  
"I didn't say that, Setsu-chan," he stares at her, shifting her around to lay atop him. "But even though you've lost something today...you may have gained something better for tomorrow."  
  
Setsuna blinks, then lays her head on his chest. "Why don't I believe that now...?"  
  
* * *  
  
"We've lost our princess, Haruka," Michiru tightly holds her beloved, sobbing. "We've lost her..."  
  
"We'll get her back, love," Haruka kisses her forehead. "One way or another, we'll get her back..."  
  
* * *  
  
"Idiots, what do THEY know about what Usagi-chan feels?!" Naru snarls, snapping off the radio before getting back to her books...  
  
* * *  
  
"I'm afraid, Chooko-chan."  
  
"There's nothing to fear but fear itself, Hotaru-chan," Chooko smiles as the two relax in the latter's room at the Tsukino residence. "Usagi-chan is just growing up a little more. It's natural for her to feel that way after seeing you suffer on her behalf for so long. Be at peace with yourself."  
  
"But we're supposed to suffer, Chooko-chan," Hotaru's eyes narrow. "We must suffer for her. That is the way..."  
  
"...it was a thousand years ago," Chooko stares at her. "But this is now and you are much different from that time, sister. If you allow yourself to dwell too much on the past, then you'll never be at peace with yourself in the future. Do you want that?"  
  
"No..."  
  
* * *  
  
"Usako," Mamoru gazes out the window of his apartment...  
  
* * *  
  
"It's over, Chie-chan."  
  
"Is it?"  
  
Rei gazes bleakly at the former Shingi Maiden, they relaxing in the priestess' bedroom. Chie was now wearing the vestments of a Shinto shrine maiden. "What would you think?" she sniffs. "We've always fought to protect Usagi, nearly died for her on a couple of occasions. Now..."  
  
Chie sighs, glaring at the offending radio whose broadcast had really wrecked Rei's day, not that last night's events and a half-dozen nightmares following was anything to be content with. "Why do you think she did it?"  
  
"She hates us...!" Rei sobs.  
  
"Can you be sure?!"  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"I think Usagi loves you very much," Chie smiles assuredly. "We're empathic. Before we were freed of the Reverend's control, we would focus on the bonds between you and Usagi, destroy them or disrupt them to foster mistrust, then allow events to escalate to a situation where you would fight Usagi, try to destroy her."  
  
Rei is ashen-faced. "I'd kill myself first!!!"  
  
"Oh?" Chie muses. "Listen to yourself now, Rei. You think you've lost Usagi..."  
  
"We have!!" Rei cries.  
  
"Tell me how," Chie prods.  
  
Silence falls as Rei dams her tears. "She is our princess. A thousand years ago...another lifetime...we all took an oath to protect and watch out for her. When...we discovered that she was the reborn Princess Serenity, all of us found ourselves fulfilling that role again. We're comfortable with it. It's safe and secure for us to feel that way..."  
  
"Even at risk of your lives?"  
  
"Hai. Even at that."  
  
"How does Usagi feel about it?"  
  
Rei blinks. "She never minded it before..."  
  
"But this is here and now, Rei," Chie warns. "I can sense it when I'm close to Usagi. Deep down, she's scared for you. Last night could have been her worst nightmare come true hadn't Naru been there to save you. How many times was this? Another time with Galaxia, the fight with Beryl in the Arctic? How many times do you flirt with Eternity before it claims you once and for all?"  
  
Silence falls. "I think the reason Usagi has begun to change this way...why she says 'I'm not the Princess'...is that, in her heart, she's saying 'being a princess threatens my friends and the man I desire to marry,'" Chie sighs. "That's a harsh thing for someone her age to absorb, Rei. She's had to change so much over the last few years. Her faith in her situation has been slowly eroded day by day. But she's found it within herself to build a new faith, a new confidence in herself and her surroundings. She doesn't want to exclude any of you, Rei. She sees her life as having you in it, as her friends and family."  
  
"It's not the way it's supposed to be..."  
  
Chie stares at her, cursing herself for not being strong enough empathically that she could go into Rei's mind and undo the damage. Losing her personal connection to the Reverend cut her empathic abilities in half...and who know how the Reverend would react if a former Maiden was trying to make right the wrongs he unleashed on these people. "Rei, let me tell you something," she sighs. "What you're going through right now is what all the Fushin's victims go through when they confront a crisis of faith. You have three choices before you. You can surrender your faith and allow yourself to be plunged into Chaos. You can hold onto your faith regardless of the damage it takes, regardless of what price that act extracts from your soul. Or you can surrender your faith...and make something stronger to take its place. There have been times when we've been thrown off planets by people who made something stronger. This is your chance to do the same for yourself and your people. Don't throw it away, please."  
  
No response. Chie blinks, then rises, heading into the sacred fire room. Rei's grandfather and Yuuichirou sit there having tea. "Any luck?" the former rock singer stares at the new shrine apprentice as she relaxes beside him.  
  
"Nothing," Chie shakes her head. "The claws have been dug in way too deep. All she's focusing on now is Usagi's evolution, how it's breaking her away from the mould of Princess Serenity."  
  
"I wish I fully understood the whole story of the Silver Millennium to better understand how Rei would relate to Usagi," the elder priest sighs. "Who could we ask that could help us better understand this?"  
  
"Outside Setsuna, who's been hit already, I can't think of anyone..." Yuuichirou muses.  
  
"Luna and Artemis," Chie proposes.  
  
The men blink...  
  
* * *  
  
"Trouble, sister."  
  
Usagi looks up from her books. "What sort of trouble, Nona?"  
  
Nona places a poster on her sister's desk. Usagi blinks. "Multi-faith rally at the Juuban Arena...gods, that's tomorrow!!"  
  
"At noon," Nona grits her teeth. "This place will be jammed with parishioners...potential targets for Fushingi."  
  
Usagi's eyes narrow, then sits back. "Call the Twins and Naru-chan. We'll meet at Ayako's and Matsuri's place in an hour; I can't trust having the originals and Mamo-chan there with what Galaxia just did. Get Yuu-chan's friends there, too...and Mame-chan," she points to the picture of the preacher, an American evangelical minister. "She can tell us more about this fellow. With Ami down, we'll need all the help we can figuring this out."  
  
"Hai," Nona nods.  
  
Once the moon huntress has departed, Luna walks inside. "You won't include the others?" the black-furred cat wonders.  
  
"I can't bring them in with what happened last night, Luna," Usagi sighs. "We don't know how much they've been influenced by Fushingi. Fate knows, I've done enough to shake their lives up..."  
  
"Why must you blame yourself?" Luna wonders.  
  
"Luna!!" Usagi blinks, then sighs. "Luna, do you still think of me as Princess Serenity?"  
  
Taken aback by that question, Luna sighs. "Yes, I do."  
  
"And what do you think of what's happened to me?"  
  
"You mean with your desire to be a better fighter and that?" Luna smiles. "Usagi, let me tell you something. A princess' fate is usually either to marry a prince...or become a queen."  
  
Usagi blinks. "You're growing up, Usagi," Luna bats a tear away with a paw. "It's hard for me to watch you grow up. In that way, I'm like other mothers even though I've had far less influence on you than your own mother. On another level, I'm proud of you. You're making your own decisions. You're anticipating trouble and trying to prepare for it. You're looking out for everyone's interests, not just your own. That's what any good leader, be they president, general...or queen...is supposed to do.  
  
"Very soon...we don't know when, of course...you will finally become QUEEN Serenity and begin to construct Crystal Tokyo. You don't know what that's going to be like; you hardly learned a thing when you visited Chibi-usa's time fighting Prince Demand. Maybe becoming a better fighter...and trying to standing on your own two feet...has something to do with it. As Ataru and Lum can certainly attest, it takes a lot to construct a society, which is far more than just building a city. It's creating traditions, forging ways to relate between people, all sorts of complex things."  
  
"I've never sat back and thought it through, you know," Usagi muses, rubbing her arms.  
  
"Of course not; it's far too big to consider in one night," Luna chuckles, then looks serious. "But that is for the future. Right now, we have to ensure that we have a future...and for that, we best get to Ayako's place."  
  
"Right," Usagi rises...  
  
* * *  
  
"It was hard for me to sneak away from Minako-chan like that," Junko frowns as everyone relaxes in the living room of the Twins' old apartment complex. It is quite a crowd: the Twins, Usagi, Naru, Gurio, Luna, Artemis, the Salvation Senshi, all twelve former Shingi Maidens and Beans. Atop that, Usagi got Yuki to teleport Negako down from Chitose. "She didn't ask anything, but I could tell she was curious about why the Twins were getting together."  
  
"Same with me," Katsura sighs. "With both Wakana and I leaving at the same time; if Fushingi is monitoring us through Mako-chan and the others, he must know we're up to something."  
  
"Agreed, so let's make this fast and *keep it quiet* from the others when we're done," Usagi emphasizes, then looks at the lone American. "Mame-chan, can you tell us about this preacher? Is he been hurt by scandal or anything like that?"  
  
"He's as clean as a whistle," Beans asserts. "Pretty good preacher, too. Lot of people like and respect him."  
  
"Which makes him a target for the other Maidens," Yuu warns.  
  
"Okay, second thing: last night, the Maidens didn't show up, which means they're onto our trying to nail them first when the fight starts," Usagi looks to Gurio. "Think you and Yuki can teleport onto their ship and make things ugly enough for them to teleport off and get them into our range?"  
  
"Strange as this sounds, the ship they're using is normal, though it is powered by the Reverend's will," Gurio purses his lips. "But shifting various parts into different dimensions would liven things up nicely. By the way, I'm generating a null-space field over the house to block out any direct empathic scans the Reverend can use, so we can relax on the secrecy part."  
  
"That's good," Naru sighs. "Now all we have to do is keep the others from showing up."  
  
"Are they on our side?" Nona muses. "Ayako?"  
  
"Hard for me to tell," the passion mistress shakes her head. "Their thoughts are churning like a whirlpool. One moment, they're normal, the next..." she waves her hands helplessly.  
  
"Negako, can you postulate what could happen?" Luna stares at the ninjitsu grandmistress.  
  
Negako hums, crossing her arms. "Best case scenario: they'll remember their loyalty to Usagi and stand at her side. Worse case: they'll be totally corrupted by Fushingi and fight with his agents. In case that happens, there is a special function I had built into the Moon Lancer, Usagi. Strike them anywhere with the tip and you will drain their chi, rendering them totally powerless. And only you can restore them to normal with the Crystal."  
  
Luna and Artemis exchange wary looks. Usagi blinks, then sighs. "Thanks, Teach. I just hope it doesn't go that far."  
  
"'Pray for the best, prepare for the worst,'" Beans muses.  
  
"Wise words," Luna sighs. "So, we have Gurio and Yuki covering the Fushin's ship. Naru must remain to the side in case Galaxia comes. That leaves the other Twins and Usagi..."  
  
"And us!" Chuuko cuts in, grinning.  
  
Akane and Reiko nod. "What about the kids?!" Artemis wonders.  
  
"We'll watch over them," Wakana muses, indicating the other former Shingi Maidens. "Besides, if you force the Reverend and the Maidens off the ship, they'll be too busy running for their lives to worry about tracking those kids down."  
  
"If necessary, we could ask Nicole to protect them aboard her crystal palace," Luna hums.  
  
"Thirteen on thirteen," Usagi hums. "Even odds. Not the best sort of game I'd like to play."  
  
"Got no choice," Beans warns.  
  
"Yeah," Usagi nods. "Anything else?"  
  
"I'd like to take Naru aside for a while to teach her to draw the soulsword with as minimal concentration as needed," Negako sighs. "With that, she can immediately close quarters with Galaxia and disable her right then and there. Once that's done, she's free to plug up any gaps in our strategy...though I remind you that most battle plans rarely survive first contact with the enemy."  
  
"Don't matter," Usagi grimaces. "There's too much at stake to worry about things screwing up...far too much this time."  
  
The others solemnly nod...  
  
* * *  
  
To be concluded... 


	5. Part 5 - The Light of Innocence

The Pony Man strums his guitar as the sun sets after another day of playing, finding treasure and eating mountains of candied apples. For this entity, it was a never-ending babysitting job concerning countless numbers of children; holding the fragments of their spirits in his realm until their mortal forms perished and thus freed their Spirit of Innocence to enter one yet to be born. He had no complaints; it was what he'd done when the first children were born and what he would do until the last perished.  
  
He blinks as a flash of light near the campfire brings Naru into his realm. Beside him was the current guardian of Eternity in her civilian guise. "What brings you two here?" he places the guitar aside, gazing fondly at them.  
  
"We apologize for disturbing you, Oji-sama," Yuki sits across from him. Like the avatar of Life, she too had the ability to enter the Pony Man's realm. "Naru-chan suggested to me that we ask for your help in dealing with the Fushin tomorrow."  
  
"It's hard for me to interfere in the mortal realm; I have no real power there," he advises.  
  
"True...but there are twelve people now available who could become your agents in the mortal realm," Yuki smiles.  
  
"You mean the girls who bolted from Fushingi's stable?"  
  
"Hai," both nod.  
  
The Pony Man purses his lips, allowing the light to illuminate his grandfatherly face, pale eyes gazing at the red horizon beyond. "Well, that could do something to stem the Fushin. You have to understand that when that happens, forces will arise to fight them. Are they prepared to deal with that?"  
  
"They wish to repent their past sins as Shingi Maidens and learn what it really means to be human," Naru smiles. "I'd say this could help them do just that."  
  
He smiles. "Alright, I'll help."  
  
"Thank you," Yuki nods...  
  
* * *  
  
"Faith No More"  
a tale of the Sailor Senshi  
by Fred Herriot  
fherriot@yahoo.com  
**** **** ****  
Edited by E.B. Kushnir  
kush1@iaw.on.ca  
**** **** ****  
Based on "Sailor Moon," created by Naoko Takeuchi  
**** **** ****  
  
PART FIVE - THE LIGHT OF INNOCENCE  
  
Chie breathes out, allowing Yuuichirou to descend into a content slumber as she dismounts him, then slips the covers over him before drawing a robe over herself and walking to the sacred fire room. After the planning session at Ayako's and Matsuri's home, the shrine maiden had to fight off Rei's curious questions, sensing deep down that Fushingi was trying to learn what the Sailor Senshi had planned for the morrow's gathering at the Juuban Arena. The twelve former Shingi Maidens had volunteered to go there as did Beans in hopes of averting a major catastrophe.  
  
It was only the first step, Chie bites her lips. She had so much blood on her hands, it would take years...no, centuries!...for her to properly atone for her past acts. She and her friends had yet to sit down and really talk about their future plans, but Chie knew that no matter where they went, they went as a group. Which, thanks to Yuu's and Asuka's growing bonds with Shingo and Ichiro, would keep them closely bound to the Sailor Senshi.  
  
Gazing at the flames, she allows her mind to drift back to the many Chaos Crusades she'd been a part of. Manipulating thoughts, destroying icons, casting a storm of doubt on the people of fifteen innocent worlds, allowing them to destroy themselves in an orgy of bloodlust as everything that made them intelligent beings was torn away. Watching Fushingi drink that power, draw on it like some perverse narcotic, lasting as long as it took for the hunger to return, which wasn't really that long in terms of years separating each Crusade.  
  
Try as she might, she couldn't focus on a single face, seek out someone in particular on which she could focus her grief, her guilt and sorrow. Like a coward, she remained behind the scenes, using Haishin as trained attack hounds to do the dirty work. She rarely stayed behind for the destructive orgy that normally resulted from a Maiden's raid. It made her more guilty even thought Fushingi had ordered his Maidens to clear out when people started dying...and then, all Chie did was obey. Yes, sir! No, sir! Anything you say, sir...!  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
Chie turns to see Naru standing behind her, a small box in hand. "Naru, what are you doing here?"  
  
"I got you this for tomorrow," Naru hands her the box. "It should help spice things up in case Fushingi tries to manipulate you back into his fold."  
  
Opening the box, Chie sees a neck choker containing a row of beautiful amethyst jewels mounted on an electric blue cloth. Slipping it around her neck, she fastens the choker in place, then gazes at Naru. "How does it look?"  
  
"Looks good," Naru smiles. "Now, say 'Calliope Sentinel Cosmic Power, Make Up'..."  
  
* * *  
  
"Will you quit berating yourself, Usagi-chan," Ayako sighs. "It isn't your fault that things got out of control and the others couldn't keep up with you. That's the way life is, remember?"  
  
"I remember," Usagi sighs. Unable to return back home, much less visit her friends or Mamoru, she went out for a walk. Ayako volunteered to keep her company. "Still, I wish things had gone better..."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Ayako pats her friend's shoulder. "We all do. But right now, we've got Fushingi to take care of first."  
  
"True..."  
  
Usagi turns a corner...then gasps as she rams into someone, the blow knocking them both down. "*Tcha,* I'm sorry!" a familiar accented voice cries out.  
  
"No, it's my fault...Lum?!" Usagi blinks, recognizing the Oni.  
  
Greetings are exchanged as Lum and her daughter Reiko are introduced to Ayako. Despite her own personal tragedy, the Oni seems in robust health, her green locks shorn to her shoulders. Both she and Reiko carry shopping bags. "How's Ataru been for the last while?" Usagi wonders as the quartet head into Tomobiki.  
  
"He's not feeling much better," Lum admits. "There are times he just sits at the window gazing into the night, wondering if all he did was right. It reminded Mal-chan of the time when we'd been kidnapped by the Mikado, when Nokoko-chan just stared into space, withdrew from talking to anyone."  
  
"Losing one's child can do that to anybody," Ayako muses.  
  
"True," Lum's voice is hoarse.  
  
"Mom, can we get something to eat?" Reiko wonders.  
  
Lum nods, then turns to the Senshi. "Anyone for ice cream?!"  
  
"Does the sun rise?" Usagi giggles...  
  
* * *  
  
"The princess is gone..."  
  
"No, she isn't, Haruka!" Beans sighs, gazing bleakly at her friends. The three now relax in the couple's living room, Haruka and Michiru holding each other tightly, gazing bleakly at a picture of the Senshi taken sometime before the battle with Galaxia. "She just decided she wouldn't be your princess anymore. She doesn't feel right about it..."  
  
"She hates us!!" Michiru sobs.  
  
"Michiru!" Beans cries. "She doesn't hate you! She loves you!! She doesn't want to see you hurt..."  
  
The American's words die as she realizes how hopeless it is. Try as she might, she couldn't get her friends to shake off these false feelings of abandonment, of hopelessness. Usagi's self-transformation had been the perfect opportunity for Fushingi to exploit, drive a wedge of doubts deep into the Senshi's hearts. And outside of killing the bastard, Beans saw no way for her friends to get out of this mess.  
  
Rising, she walks to the window, gazing at the beautiful city beyond. With the dark priest focusing his concentration on Japan, the riots back home had quelled. Historians across America had termed the coming of the faithless plague the worst outburst of violence since the race riots of the 1960s. Beans shudders, realizing how easy it was for people to be worked into a frenzy, then lash out at innocent bystanders. And, if things went wrong tomorrow, that violence would be unleashed on a nation which hadn't experienced a civil war in four hundred years.  
  
"Mame-chan?" Haruka gazes at her.  
  
"Yeah?" Beans smiles.  
  
"Where were you earlier?" the blonde gazes innocently at her.  
  
Beans tries not to laugh. Chie and Wakana had warned her that Fushingi would be pulling their strings to ascertain what he couldn't sense directly thanks to Gurio. Playing Haruka as the "cute 'lil innocent me" type was definitely NOT the way to convince Beans that she wasn't having her strings pulled. "Oh, I just went out to meet the others at Ayako's place. We're all worried about you after what Galaxia did, so we tried to brainstorm for a bit. Didn't get anywhere, unfortunately."  
  
Haruka and Michiru exchange looks, then nod before returning their attention to each other. Deep in her heart, the American relaxes. Michiru could smell a lie coming from fifty miles away, so telling her part of the truth seemed prudent. Besides, killing Fushingi WAS a way of helping the Senshi overcome their personal pain. But the dark preacher didn't need to know that just yet...  
  
* * *  
  
"This Beans is a very intelligent woman," Galaxia muses, staring at the American's image through the scrying glass aboard Fushingi's ship. "Says the right things to keep our hounds off the scent. I wonder what sort of power she has."  
  
"Perhaps you should go find out," Fushingi muses.  
  
"No," Galaxia hums. "Most likely, Sailor Terra is close by. I've no desire to see myself out of action with tomorrow being as important as it is. Still, there is another way," she holds up a glowing star seed.  
  
Fushingi nods. Seconds later, Tin Nyanko appears beside her mistress. "Awake again...?" she confusedly wonders, then stares at Galaxia. "What do you want, Onee-chan?"  
  
Galaxia rises, fighting down the surge of regret and sorrow she always felt for manipulating the younger Senshi/Anima Mate like this. Unlike the three other Anima Mates now reborn as Salvation Senshi, the Golden Senshi had personally known Tin Nyanko...then known as Sailor Shakubyou...prior to the Sailor Wars. Hailing from different planets of the same solar system, the two met shortly after the younger discovered her Gift, using it to kill her abusive father after she caught him beating her mother.  
  
The two remained together for some time, a big sister-little sister partnership that saw them through many adventures...right to that awful moment when Galaxia had found her friend's broken body at the end of the Sailor Wards. Nyanko's loss haunted Galaxia for years, influencing her decision to keep the fourth Anima Mate back from obtaining star seeds until the others' failures had become intolerable. Even after being initially cleansed by Sailor Moon, Galaxia held onto Nyanko's star seed, her heart hoping to find some way to restore her beloved friend to life.  
  
"There is a woman who needs to be shown what it means to cross us, Nyanko," Galaxia points to the scrying glass. "Eliminate her."  
  
"Hai," Nyanko nods, then vanishes.  
  
Galaxia smiles as she turns away from the Reverend, a single tear flowing down her cheek...  
  
* * *  
  
"It seems our fourth would-be Salvation Senshi is on her way," the Forever Knight crosses his arms.  
  
"Yes," Sailor Hades muses. "We just need to add the extra ingredient. Excuse me."  
  
The guardian of Eternity teleports from the Rock of Infinity to a point in space some light-years from Earth, surrounding herself in an air bubble as she comes upon a rock drifting between solar systems, one enclosed by its own forcefield bubble and hollowed out to contain enough water to carry a passenger. The Wanderer within was about a quarter-life old, Hades reckons. Her markings made her from one of the southern polar schools. Apologies, sister, for my disturbing you, but my school and I require your assistance, Hades bows her head in greeting.  
  
You need but ask, sister, the Wanderer mentally smiles...  
  
* * *  
  
"I'm sorry to bother you, Yuu, but you'll be needed at Haruka's and Michiru's place right away," the Forever Knight sighs after teleporting into the Tsukino home right after Hades left.  
  
"A problem?" Yuu wonders, she and Shingo relaxing on the bed they now shared.  
  
"Galaxia's friend Tin Nyanko is heading to give Beans a bad time," the guardian of Infinity crosses his arms. "Yuki's gone off to get someone to help Nyanko cross the line back to our side, but you'll be needed for some distraction."  
  
"No problem," Yuu rises.  
  
The Forever Knight vanishes as Yuu crosses her arms over the beautiful turquoise jewels on their purple neck choker. "CLIO SENTINEL COSMIC POWER, MAKE UP!!!!!!"  
  
A funnel of wind forms into Doric columns as energy strips Yuu's clothes away as a sailor fuku appears, trimmed in purple. Her symbol, a scroll crossed with a writer's quill in salute to her namesake muse, appears on her bowtie's button. When the wind disperses, Sailor Clio emerges. "Wow!!" Shingo whistles. "First my sister, now my fiancee! This is great!!"  
  
"Aren't you a little young to worry about that?" Clio winks.  
  
"Hey, you can't stay a kid forever, you know!" Shingo smiles as they kiss, then he gazes into her eyes. "Be careful."  
  
"I'll be fine," the sentinel of life skills nods...  
  
* * *  
  
"I take it you're not here for a social."  
  
Beans was trying not to panic, but it's hard when you had a bazooka pointed at your face and an evilly smiling girl in a black sleeveless bodysuit with cat ear-like humps on the head holding the weapon. Atop that, neither Haruka or Michiru, sitting several feet away on a couch, seem to have noticed the intruder. "Not really," Nyanko smirks. "You know a few things about what the Sailor Senshi plan to do tomorrow. Start talking and if I'm in a good mood, I might not shoot off your pretty head!"  
  
Beans blinks as a familiar form teleports into the apartment, then points. "Look behind you."  
  
"Oh, c'mon, I ain't gonna fall for...!"  
  
A finger taps her shoulder. Nyanko spins around...and gets belted by Clio's fist, sending the Anima Mate sprawling! As the Forever Knight vanishes, the Life Sentinel moves between the American and her attacker. "Would you care to try that on me first?"  
  
"Who are you?!!" Nyanko snarls.  
  
"I'm the Life Sentinel Sailor Clio, protector of life skills and avatar of history," Clio smiles. "And you're about to get a reminder of what your history is like, Nyanko Suzu...or should I really say, Sailor Shakubyou?"  
  
The Anima Mate jolts. "How did you know that?!"  
  
"You have a history before you were an Anima Mate, Nyanko," Clio smiles, spreading her arms. "And history is my specialty. ***HISTORAMA!!!!!!***" she claps her hands.  
  
A holographic screen appears before Tin Nyanko, showing the image of her homeworld. A simple family dwelling, not really different from homes on Earth save for the cat-like influence in the architecture. A family, a father who beat his wife regularly while a scared girl watched. "Mama!!!" Nyanko cries.  
  
"Remember, Nyanko..." Clio's voice is hypnotic.  
  
Beans walks around Clio to kneel beside Nyanko, placing a supporting hand on her shoulder as the cat warrior watches her life replay itself. Images of continued abuse, intolerable by anyone's standards. Nyanko crying over her mother's pain. Finally, a day comes when the teenage Nyanko discovers a Gift, a power that makes her Shakubyou's warrior of truth and love. Her first act: punish her father for hurting her beloved mother. The additional pain of taking that bloody step too far, then begging her mother for forgiveness. Galaxia then comes. "Onee-chan...!"  
  
Adventures together. Fighting daemons, alien invaders and common crooks alongside the Golden Senshi. The Sailor Wars. Watching Chaos' warriors lash out to destroy all before them, trying to destroy worlds as the galaxy's pretty warriors banded together. Making new friends. The iron lady, Sailor Tetsuzo. The galactic siren, Sailor Ginkaibijou. The herald of Entropy, Sailor Enko. A fierce battle sees the four cut down. Galaxia finding them after, holding her beloved friend's body close as she vows vengeance on the monsters who struck her down.  
  
"I never wanted vengeance...!" Nyanko sobs.  
  
Beans embraces her as Clio cancels out the Historama. Another space warp brings in Sailor Hades, Sailor Chronos and a large floating rock full of water. "This is the one, sister," the guardian of Eternity gazes at the being inside the rock.  
  
Beans blinks, then tenses as a calm voice fills her mind. I can sense her confusion, her desire to rescue her beloved adopted sister from the sub-creature Fushingi, a voice that strangely sounded like Nyanko muses. Let us begin.  
  
Tentacles snake out to gently touch the cat warrior, draw her towards the being who will very soon become One with her. "Don't be scared," Beans smiles. "This won't really hurt you."  
  
Chronos hefts her Time Reaper, then levels it on target. "***TIME SLOW ACCELERATION!!!!!!***"  
  
Beans watches as the bubble of sped-up time wraps around Nyanko and the Nendo-kata. The cat warrior fades as her mind is drawn into the allasomorph's mind in Psi-Unity. All that remains of her are the bracelets which gave her still-living spirit a body to use. A pouch then appears as a humanoid body grows swiftly before the sophomore's eyes.  
  
The hatch then explodes as the reborn Nyanko Suzu emerges, the Crossing Over complete. She then draws the bracelets to her telekinetically, concentrating on them as she remoulds the crystals to now work akin to the henshin sticks the Sailor Senshi use. Then with a wave of her hand, the rock and the emptied shell within it disintegrates. With that, Chronos disperses the time bubble, allowing Nyanko to step back to the floor.  
  
"Um...could someone get me some clothes, please?"  
  
Everyone laughs...  
  
* * *  
  
"Nyanko's gone...?" Galaxia gazes at the scrying glass, stunned that others had reacted swiftly to protect their friends. Did they have the Fushin's ship wired?!  
  
The Golden Senshi blinks as her friend's eyes glow, turning up to gaze right at Galaxia. She shudders as the younger Salvation Senshi's eyes tear, a voice echoing in her mind.  
  
I will save you, Onee-chan...  
  
* * *  
  
"By the sounds of it, you have quite a problem before you."  
  
Usagi smiles as Abraham Shapiro places a Mount Fuji before her, then digs in. "You can say that again, Shapiro-san," the Senshi's leader sighs. "I just wish I'd thought of this before I asked Teach to train me."  
  
"Reminds me of when Darling decided to move out of Tomobiki," Lum smiles. "You're lucky, Usagi. You at least want to hang onto your friends. Eighteen months ago, all Darling cared about was getting him and I as far away from this place as possible."  
  
"Yeah, he said you almost broke up because of it."  
  
"Hai," the Oni sighs, remembering the Spirit War's aftermath. "After Icarus, Darling knew right away that when his innocence was destroyed, mine was also doomed because I'd long become used to the way he was. So, he tried to help me work through that as best as he could. He made mistakes...very painful ones for both of us, not to mention everyone else...but he made it up to all of us eventually, in word and deed. You're the lucky one, Usagi; you were never tortured into growing up."  
  
"No, Lum, I was tortured," Usagi shudders. "Having Mamo-chan brainwashed by Beryl, then watching the Senshi die protecting me a couple of times...enough's enough as far as I'm concerned."  
  
The others nod. "But now you have to try to convince your friends that your changing is the right path," Shapiro hums.  
  
"Yeah, that'll be hard, especially with what Fushingi just did to them," Usagi sighs.  
  
"But you have an advantage," Lum winks. "You still love them, see them as your friends, see Mamoru-kun as your fiance. That's your weapon against Fushingi. You have to work at it now, but you have to do everything to make the other Senshi feel wanted."  
  
"Yeah, it should be easy once that creep's out of the way," Usagi growls, then laughs. "Then again, my changing the Senshi should be loads easier than what you and Ataru tried to do for the Niphentaxians!"  
  
"Oh, spare me!!" Lum wails as everyone else laughs. "I HATE being reminded of those jerks!!!"  
  
"Well, you did pull something off with the people here," Ayako reminds her.  
  
"That was mostly Darling's doing...and he wasn't pulling his punches when that happened," Lum sighs.  
  
"Usagi-oba-chan will have to do the same," Reiko muses.  
  
Everyone looks at the young Noukiite. "What do you mean, Reiko-chan?" Usagi blinks.  
  
"'Sometimes you have to demolish a shrine to make a better shrine,'" Reiko quotes. "Your friends honour the Silver Millennium and the Moon Kingdom, remember? But it's now dust and dirt," she looks out the window at the beautiful moon shining over Tokyo. "So it's time to fix loyalties on something else."  
  
"It happens all the time, Tsukino-san," Shapiro nods. "On Vos, my people are trying to adjust after the Mikado ruled us all for a century and more. Change is natural; it reinvigorates us and allows us to go onto better things."  
  
"Deep down, they'll understand," Lum smiles. "But you have to give them the chance to understand, Usagi."  
  
"Yeah," Usagi sighs. "And that begins tomorrow..."  
  
* * *  
  
Next morning...  
  
You are needed.  
  
With that, nine people emerge from their homes and apartments, heading towards the Juuban Arena...  
  
* * *  
  
"Just got a call from Katsura," Usagi sighs, gazing at Nona as the latter enters the living room of the Tsukino home with Chooko. "Mako-chan left the apartment this morning. Didn't say where."  
  
Nona's eyes glow. "Found her. She's heading towards the Juuban Arena."  
  
"I sense Mamoru-kun, Ami-chan...yes, they're all there now!" Chooko adds. "No sign of the Shingi Maidens."  
  
"They're running silent," Usagi hums. "Okay, call the others. We'll come together at Crown Arcade, then head over."  
  
"Hai," Nona nods...  
  
* * *  
  
"So what's this all about?" Motoki muses, handing Gurio a cup of coffee. With it still early in the day, only two people are at the machines. "What's going on with Mamoru-kun, anyway? I called him last night and he was acting really strange."  
  
"Don't be surprised," Gurio sighs. "The gent who's been causing this faithless plague got to Mamoru and the other original Senshi earlier yesterday. They've been probably corrupted by Fushingi into fighting Sailor Moon at the arena today."  
  
"You're kidding me!" Motoki gapes, then blinks. "Hey, wait a sec'! How'd you know...?!"  
  
"I figured it out just like you did," Gurio smiles. "Atop that, I am lovers with Sailor Pluto."  
  
"Lucky you...oh, hi, Usagi!" Motoki blinks as a crowd streams into the arcade. "What's up?!"  
  
"Sorry to bug you, Motoki-kun, but we're getting everyone together before heading to the arena," Usagi smiles, then gazes at the American accompanying them. "After all, Mame-chan here says the preacher that'll be there today is very good."  
  
"Hopefully, this faithless plague won't ruin things," Motoki crosses his arms.  
  
"Well, if it does, we should be okay," Usagi smiles, noting the presence of the two bystanders still within hearing distance. "After all, I have faith in Sailor Moon."  
  
"Good person to have one's faith in," Motoki winks.  
  
Nona tenses. "They're here."  
  
"Let's go," Usagi nods.  
  
Stepping outside, the Senshi leader scopes the force ready to stand with her. Naru, the Twins, Gurio, the Salvation Senshi with their newest member and the twelve new Senshi Life Sentinels. Luna and Artemis relax in Yuu's and Junko's arms. "We ready?"  
  
"Ready as we'll ever be," Matsuri smiles.  
  
"Okay, let's go," Usagi waves them down the street.  
  
As they head off, Gurio and Yuki break off, ducking into an alley to transform, then the Forever Knight and Sailor Hades teleport away...  
  
* * *  
  
Already, a large crowd has gathered around the Juuban Arena. Standing in the line up are the original Senshi and Mamoru, coming through different lines as they disperse among the crowd. Also there are twelve young women in kimonos.  
  
As the crowds stream in, Usagi, Naru, Manami, Honoka, Wakana, Asuka, Yuu, Junko, Taeko, Luna and Artemis watch from a nearby grove. "I can sense Mamoru-kun," Honoka sighs. "He's inside."  
  
"Can you sense his intentions?" Luna wonders.  
  
"Hai," Honoka nods. "He's not here to actually fight for the Reverend, but he knows you'll be here, Usagi. Once that happens, he'll try to convince you to revert to being Princess Serenity."  
  
"Damn," Usagi hisses, then opens her communicator, stabbing the button for Sailor Diana. "What's the scoop, sis?"  
  
"The other originals are inside now, seating themselves," Nona's face appears. "We're outside the south gates."  
  
"Okay, we're going in," Usagi straightens herself, then stabs the button for Sailor Hades. "Yuki, Gurio, start Phase One now."  
  
"Understood," the guardian of Eternity replies...  
  
* * *  
  
"The Shingi Maidens are inside the arena now," Galaxia smiles as she and Fushingi gaze at the scrying glass.  
  
"Good," he nods, chuckling in morbid anticipation. "Once it begins, then we'll start."  
  
Suddenly, fingers tap their shoulders. "I think not!"  
  
Both turn to see Hades and the Forever Knight standing behind them. "You!!!" Galaxia rises, bracelets glowing.  
  
"***ETERNITY HYPNOSIS!!!!!!***" Hades barks.  
  
The Styx Staff glows, causing the scene around the Golden Senshi to transform into a mad psychedelic realm of lights and sound. Galaxia balks, staggering to her knees in shock, screaming as she tries to fight her way out of this place...  
  
...though to everyone else, they still stand aboard the Fushin's ship. Fushingi stares at his ally as she grips her temples, then glares at the Forever Knight. "Who are you?!"  
  
"You'll find out," the caped guardian smiles. "Very soon..."  
  
With that, he vanishes...as the ship quakes ominously as internal systems are ruptured. "What's happening?!!"  
  
"My friend is just teleporting various parts of your ship into different dimensions where you can't control it," Hades smiles. "By the looks of it, you'll have a warp core breech on your hands in a few seconds. I doubt you'll survive that sort of explosion, so I'd abandon ship if I was you. Ja nai," she waves before teleporting off.  
  
Fushingi gasps as the decks below him buckle, geysers of energy lashing out. By then, Galaxia has recovered from Hades' attack. "We have to get out of here!!" she grabs his hand, then both teleport off just as the warp core detonates...  
  
* * *  
  
In a dressing room at the Juuban Arena, the Reverend Joseph Ryan, a Baptist evangelist from Chicago whose reputation among Americans is as solid as Billy Graham's, finishes his pre-rally prayers. Rising, he crosses himself, then turns to his assistants. "Well, shall we get on with it?"  
  
"Yes, sir," the chief of security nods, opening the door...  
  
...to reveal a woman in a white, pink, blue and red stylized sailor suit uniform, long pigtails extending from her temples and a golden crescent moon on her forehead. "Good morning, Reverend Ryan," she smiles in accented English.  
  
"Sailor Moon...!" the chief of security gapes.  
  
Ryan blinks, then smiles. "I did not believe that a humble preacher like myself would deserve protection from one like you, young lady," he gracefully bows to her.  
  
She returns his greeting. "I'm afraid that with the crowd outside, those who've perpetrated the faithless plague will find this rally too tempting to pass up. As a matter of fact, their agents are already on the grounds ready to move. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to stick around just in case."  
  
"But of course," Ryan nods.  
  
"Can we help?" the chief of security wonders.  
  
Moon sighs. "All you can do for us is keep the crowd under control and get them out of here when the shooting starts. We'll try to draw their fire away as best we can, but I can't guarantee anything with this sort of foe."  
  
"Then may God watch over us all," Ryan sighs, waving the security officers away...  
  
* * *  
  
Fushingi and Galaxia appear on the roof overlooking the arena. Like other domed stadiums around the world, the roof is designed to be retracted away so that open air soccer and baseball games could be played if the weather is clear. Both look up, the brief star making the destruction of the dark priest's ship fading in light of the noon's sun. "So, we'll need a new ship when this is over with!" he hisses, then exchanges nods with Galaxia...  
  
* * *  
  
In the crowd, Chie and Akira tense. "The Reverend..."  
  
Standing beside her, Matsuri blinks. "He's here?!"  
  
"On the roof!" Chie warns, looking up.  
  
Blinking, the fire sentinel looks up, then her eyes glow. "Galaxia's with her!" she hisses, then guides her friends out of their seats to a convenient washroom to transform.  
  
Watching them from her position across the way, Nona pulls out her communicator, tapping the button for Sailor Terra. "Naru-chan, Galaxia's here with the Reverend. You ready?"  
  
"We're set," Naru nods, Nyanko beside her.  
  
"Good luck," Nona nods, then waves her companions to a secluded corridor...just as the interior lights fade, plunging the closed dome into darkness.  
  
Spotlights click on as Reverend Ryan steps onto the stage, accompanied by Sailor Moon. The crowds cheer on seeing the preacher, then the cheers become deafening as the pretty warrior's presence is noted. "Usako..." Mamoru gasps, then rises to change.  
  
Ryan mounts the pulpit as Sailor Moon remains to his left rear, waving at the crowds. "Thank you, my friends!!" the preacher smiles. "Thank you all and God bless you!!!"  
  
The crowd applauds as Moon's eyes detect twelve women in kimonos rising, their hands glowing with dark energy. She feels the Crystal staff fill her hand as her other taps her communicator. "Sailor Moon to all Senshi and Sentinels. The Shingi Maidens are moving. Get in here now!" Ryan blinks, staring quizzically at the pretty warrior...just as a blast of energy arcs at him. Moon spots it, then leaps at him. "LOOK OUT!!!!!!"  
  
A gasp escapes many of the crowd as the pretty warrior knocks him aside a scant second before he would've been transformed into a Haishin! Both crash onto the stage as Moon rolls out, snap-drawing her Lancer as the gasps become screams. "Get to safety!!" she looks at Ryan, then begins scanning for targets.  
  
"Be careful!" he warns.  
  
"I'll be fine!!" Moon nods, then twirls, her arms glowing. "***MOON ENERGY CRESCENT STORM!!!!!!***"  
  
Bolts lash out as the battle is joined. A technician watching this from the sidelines quickly flips the switches to get the lights back on, then is saved from being made a Haishin himself by Sailor Tetsuzo. Sailor Terra, the Twins and the Salvation Senshi emerge from the dressing rooms, joined by the twelve Life Sentinels as they scope for targets. Moon watches as some of the crowd surges for the doors, then grabs the microphone at the pulpit, turning the volume to maximum. "Wait, everyone!!! Get down to the floor, don't try to run out!!! If you move, you're a target!!!"  
  
Much to her surprise, many take that advice, ducking as energy bolts lash over their heads. Only a few escape, but by then, the Life Sentinels are moving in on the Shingi Maidens, who have shed their disguises as they try to summon Haishin to assist. "What's happened to you, Yuuwaku?!" Onmitsu demands as a familiar woman in a blue and lavender fuku charges at her.  
  
"Yuuwaku is dead!" the sentinel of family warns, hands rising. "I am Sailor Urania!! ***STAR HARMONY HYPNOSIS!!!!!!***"  
  
Onmitsu screams as the bolt tears away her past loyalties to the Reverend, confronting her with the terrible truth of her present situation. They were outnumbered two-to-one and the Sailor Senshi hadn't come to lose. Meanwhile, another Maiden notices a group of children from an orphanage trying to escape under their caregiver's guidance. "Too perfect!!" she laughs...  
  
...then gags as Sailor Terspichore (Wakana) and Sailor Erato (Manami) leap in her path. "I don't think so!" the former begins to dance. "***MASK DANCE!!!!!!***"  
  
The Maiden's targets disappear...just as the Maiden herself is dropped by Ginkaibijou's foot! "Erato, get those kids out of here!" the Salvation Senshi barks. "Terspichore, with me!!"  
  
"Hai!!" the sentinel in the sea green and silver fuku turns to the orphans. "C'mon, this way!"  
  
"Who are you?!" a young girl asks.  
  
"Someone who knows what having no family means," Erato smiles as she ushers them out the door.  
  
* * *  
  
*So far, so good!* Moon grins as Terra races up to her. "How is it, Terra?!"  
  
"We're containing them," the latter smiles. "No one's dead so far!!! No sign of the originals or Mamoru...LOOK OUT!!!!!!"  
  
Terra slams Moon aside as bolts of energy lash over their heads. They roll out, then turn to see Galaxia floating nearby, laughing maniacally. "She's mine!!!" Terra snarls.  
  
"Take her!!" Moon grins.  
  
"No problem!!! ***EARTH-HEART FIRE GEYSER!!!!!!***"  
  
The Golden Senshi is slammed by the blast of superheated lava, sending her flying into the roof as Terra summons a whirlwind to pursue. Moon watches her go, then sighs. "Good luck, Naru...!"  
  
"Sailor Moon, look out!!" Reverend Ryan cries.  
  
The pretty warrior dodges as a blast of lightning slams into the stage, then spins around. "Oh, no...!!"  
  
Standing there are the original Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen, all with pained looks on their faces. "Usako, this has gone on far enough!" the caped warrior draws a rose. "I can't believe you've forgotten who and what you are."  
  
"Don't you mean who and what I *was?*" Moon rises, the Crystal appearing in her hand. "Princess Serenity is dead, remember?!"  
  
"No, she's you!!" Uranus snaps. "You've just forgotten who you are! Princess, please...!"  
  
"I'm NOT your princess!!!" Moon growls.  
  
The pain in the nine people before nearly tears a scream of anguish from her heart. "Usagi, please...!" Mars pleads.  
  
"No, Rei!!" Moon hisses. "I've stood back and watched you all suffer on my behalf long enough! You don't realize it, but you're being manipulated into doing this by someone else! Don't you see?! You fixed yourselves on one vision on me and Fushingi's used that against you! Why aren't you helping the others get rid of the Shingi Maidens and the Haishin?! Have you forgotten your oaths?!"  
  
"Our oath is to our Princess!" Pluto asserts.  
  
Moon blinks, her heart sinking as the urgency of the matter locks her on the only path open to them all. "An oath taken a thousand years ago, another lifetime that is no more," her hands fall on the Lancer, then she draws it. "An oath you failed when the Dark Kingdom attacked. I am not your Princess, not in this age and time. I am your friend. And if you can't accept that..." she takes a ready stance, stowing the Crystal as the others tense.  
  
"Then today, the Silver Millennium dies."  
  
Silence falls as the Senshi pause, wondering what had come over their leader. That pause is fatal as Moon charges, heading right for Saturn and Pluto. The two are surprised as the Lancer's tip jabs the former's bowtie, causing Saturn to shriek as a blaze of energy slams through all her defenses. "Hotaru!!!" Uranus and Neptune cry out as their ward collapses.  
  
Moon is already on Pluto, a snap kick knocking the Time Key out of the taller woman's hands, then the Lancer jabs her shoulder. As the time guardian falls, the others spread out to get breathing space and try to surround their leader. Moon's eyes narrow as she watches them, then before they could react, begins spinning around. "***MOON ENERGY CRESCENT STORM!!!!!!***"  
  
The other Senshi scream as the bolts lance into them, knocking them back as Moon lunges at Uranus and Neptune. Two quick jabs with the Lancer drop the last of the Outer Senshi as Moon turns on Venus. Jupiter leaps at her, grabbing Moon in a bear-hug as she tries to pin her sword arm down. "Usagi, stop this!!"  
  
The tallest of the Senshi is then hit at point-blank range with a storm of energy crescents and darts! She lets go, then is jabbed in the heart with the Lancer. "Why...?" Jupiter gasps as she collapses to the floor.  
  
Moon doesn't answer as she leaps on Mercury, the latter's visor down as she tries to probe the Lancer for weaknesses. Chin music sends the studious Senshi down, then Moon nails her with her sword. "I'm sorry!!" Mars takes aim. "***FLAME SNIPER!!!!!!***"  
  
"***LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!!!!!!***" Venus fires.  
  
The bolts pass through air, Moon leaping over them as she back flips to land behind the last Senshi standing. Two quick jabs drop Mars and Venus, then Moon tenses. "Usako!!!"  
  
She ducks the storm of roses heading her way, then lunges at Tuxedo Kamen. The caped knight draws his cane to block the Lancer, wincing at the unbelievable strength his beloved now possesses. "Usako, please, try to remember who you are!!" he pleads.  
  
"I DO remember!!!" Moon snarls, then hooks his cane with the Lancer and sends it flying. "***I...AM...SAILOR...MOON!!!!!!***"  
  
The point jabs Tuxedo Kamen in the heart, knocking him to the floor! Silence falls as Moon pants, trying to regain her breath, then she screams, the dam holding her tears breaking as she leaps down to help her beloved sit up. "Mamo-chan!! Mamo-chan!!!"  
  
His eyes open, staring quizzically at her. "Usako..."  
  
"I'm so sorry!!" she sobs. "I had no choice..."  
  
He smiles, unable to do much more to comfort her. "Don't cry, Usako...we deserve this for failing you..."  
  
"No...I failed you..." she sniffles.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I knew it was time to change," she burbles. "But I never took the time to think about how you'd react..."  
  
Surprise responds. "You still...love us?"  
  
Moon smiles. "Always and forever," she kisses him. "We had to tear everything down...but from that, we can start anew. We can make something better, Mamo-chan. Much better."  
  
"How can you hope to build a better future when they don't WANT that future?!" a voice snorts over metered clapping.  
  
Moon looks up to see a tall, middle-aged man in solid black from head to toe standing nearby, staring disgustedly at her. She then looks around, noting that the fighting has stopped, the Shingi Maidens all felled and under guard by the Life Sentinels. Sailor Terra and Sailor Diana are now mounting the stage. An unconscious Galaxia is now being comforted by Sailor Shakubyou nearby. The crowd is slowly emerging from their hiding places.  
  
She then focuses on Fushingi. Lowering Tuxedo Kamen to the floor, she rises, taking the Lancer and stowing it, then walks up to the dark preacher. "So you're the one who started this, eh?" she hums...then slaps him hard.  
  
Fushingi staggers, shocked that Moon hadn't blasted him with an energy attack. The pretty warrior smiles. "I just beat you!"  
  
Terra and Diana exchange knowing smiles as the Forever Knight appears beside them. "How could someone who just betrayed her friends' faith in her win?!!" Fushingi demands.  
  
"All a matter of opinion," Moon asserts, turning away as she crosses her hands behind her. "That's what faith is, remember? A simple, sometimes limited, matter of opinion. The way each person sees her place in the Universe." She then stares at Fushingi. "You don't steal faith, Reverend. You make people question their faith. If they're weak, they're broken and vulnerable, all yours for the taking. But if they're strong, they discard that faith and move to something better. They grow up a bit more. And because I'm strong...I can beat you."  
  
Terra nods to the Forever Knight. He opens his cape, allowing a portal to form between dimensions...and permits the spirits of nine children to depart the Pony Man's realm.  
  
"We'll see about that!!" Fushingi smiles...then gags.  
  
Moon looks...as the spirits the Forever Knight brought in touch their older selves, then become sparkles of energy as they merge with their older selves, allowing them to remember the carefree, innocent times before...  
  
...Ami's parents divorced...  
  
...Rei's mother died...  
  
...Makoto's parents were killed in a plane crash...  
  
...Minako lost friends when she moved to England...  
  
...Mamoru understood what being an orphan was...  
  
...Haruka's mother rejected her tomboyish ways...  
  
...Michiru's skills isolated her from her friends...  
  
...Hotaru discovered her healing power...  
  
...Setsuna watched her civilization destroyed.  
  
Rising, the Senshi exchange curious looks, then smile. They then look at Sailor Moon. Yes, a princess, but that was a thousand years ago. She was a different person now, one who wanted to be more than a princess. One who wanted to be a friend, an equal. Sensing the clearing of their minds, Moon turns to Fushingi, who is now ashen faced. "You lost, Reverend."  
  
"By the way," the Forever Knight hums, raising his cape higher as an eerie glow illuminates the stage. "Someone says 'hi.'"  
  
Fushingi gapes as the portal reveals the Pony Man, sitting on a knoll as he plays his guitar. "***YOU!!!!!!***" he screams, lunging at the image of his most hated enemy...  
  
...then screams again as his body crosses the dimensional barriers and burns up as this avatar of Chaos is consumed alive by the Spirit of Innocence. Soon, nothing is left, not even ashes, as the Forever Knight closes the gateway...  
  
* * *  
  
"What was that, Oji-chan?"  
  
"It doesn't matter, kids," the guardian of Innocence smiles. "C'mon. It's time to go. The pirate ship is waiting."  
  
The children cheer...  
  
* * *  
  
"What happened?!" Saturn wonders.  
  
With the dark preacher gone, the Senshi feel their strength return as they gather around their leader. "Oh, I just exposed him to a realm he could never enter," the Forever Knight grins. "After all, a universe full of the Spirit of Innocence is too much even for someone like him to take."  
  
"How true," Pluto ruefully smiles.  
  
"Who was the cowboy?" Jupiter wonders.  
  
"My imaginary friend," Terra shrugs.  
  
The original Senshi faint! "She's kidding, right?" Tuxedo Kamen turns to his fiancee.  
  
"Hmmm...maybe!" Moon laughs, then watches the Salvation Senshi come up, Shakubyou carrying the unconscious Galaxia. "She okay?"  
  
"Onee-chan just needs to go to a place where she can properly heal," the newest Crossed Over Nendo-kata smiles, then looks at Sailor Hades. "Yuki-chan, can you send us there?"  
  
"You best send the other Shingi Maidens," Sailor Terspichore adds as the Life Sentinels come up. "They'll need some place to teach them what they need to be real members of society."  
  
"Okay," Hades nods, waving her Styx Staff...  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, Sailor Moon and her friends really cleaned house at the Juuban Arena yesterday, getting rid of the latest pack of aliens to try to overcome us!" the deejay reports over the radio at Haruka's and Michiru's apartment. "Weren't they something?! Did you see the new Senshi Life Sentinels?! If anyone was out there watching the fun, call in and tell us all you can...!!"  
  
Everyone chuckles as they relax, sipping tea...and munching on candied apples. "I can't seem to have enough of these!!" Minako gulps down one, her lips and face splattered in red glaze.  
  
"Neither can I!" Ami chuckles as she nibbles hers, then stares at Naru. "So, who exactly is this...Pony Man?"  
  
"He's the guardian of childhood innocence," Naru smiles. "I've been able to contact him since I was a baby."  
  
"I never once thought that he'd actually allow people to do that," Setsuna muses, then burps. "Excuse me!"  
  
"You've been eating those things since you got up!!" Haruka snickers, nodding to the candied apple in the time guardian's hand.  
  
"What about you?!" Setsuna snaps.  
  
Everyone laughs as Beans, Junko and Makoto come in with fresh trays of caramel-coated snacks. "Lucky thing I learned how to make these on the farm," the American smiles, then gazes worriedly at her friends. "You guys okay?"  
  
"No, not really," Michiru sighs. "What happened yesterday was inexcusable..."  
  
"Will you all finally stop?!" Naru snaps. "You couldn't help yourselves, not after what Galaxia did!! I'm just glad Nyanko and the Nendo-kata are watching over her and the other Shingi Maidens! Relax, it's over with!!"  
  
"Speaking of which, what happens to all of you now?" Ami muses, staring at Rurika.  
  
The Life Sentinels exchange looks. "We stay with you," Rurika smiles. "After all, Yuu, Asuka and Chie are forming relationships with some of your friends...and besides, we have to atone for what we did while we were under the Reverend's control."  
  
"Where can we fit you all?!" Makoto muses. "I mean, Yuu, Asuka, Wakana, Chie and Emiru had places to stay, but..."  
  
"Already taken care of, Mako-chan," Ayako asserts. "With the ladies who were living with Matsuri-chan and I heading out to start their own lives, we've got room at the place even with Chuuko-chan, Akane-chan and Reiko-chan living there. 'Sides, we can use the help raising the kids."  
  
"Last survivors of their race," Setsuna sighs. "I wonder when we should tell them about that."  
  
"When it's right for them, Setsuna," Naru muses. "Even with the Pony Man around to protect their innocence should that time ever come, Fates forbid, they still deserve to be kids."  
  
The others nod. Watching them from nearby, Usagi sighs, then gazes out the window. The scars Fushingi left behind were still there, still needed to be properly addressed over the unforeseeable future. Everyone had to find out where everyone else stood on certain matters. The healing would take a while.  
  
"'If only I could accelerate healing,' Chooko once said," she whispers, gazing at the heavens. "If only..."  
  
*** The End...For Now ***  
  
**** **** ****  
  
And here's the song that inspired the Pony Man...  
  
THE PONY MAN by Gordon Lightfoot  
From the album "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970)  
Written by Gordon Lightfoot  
  
When it's midnight on the meadow and the cats are in the shed.  
And the river tells a story at the wind goes by my bed.  
If you listen very closely, be as quiet as you can.  
In the yard, you'll hear him, it is the Pony Man.  
  
We're always there to greet him when he tumbles into town.  
He leads a string of ponies; some are white and some are brown.  
And they never seem to kick or bite; they only want to play.  
And they live on candy apples instead of oats and hay.  
  
And when we are assembled, he gives a soft command.  
And we climb aboard our ponies, as in a rule they stand.  
And down the road we gallop, and cross the fields we glide.  
And soon we all go sailing off into the midnight sky.  
  
And as we gaily rock along beside a rippling sea.  
There's Tom and Dick and Sally and Mary Joe and me.  
And the Pony Man is leading 'cause he's travelled here before.  
And he gives a whoop and holler at Mister Moon's front door.  
  
And then we stop to rest awhile where the Solar River glides.  
Up to the slip comes a pirate ship to take us for a ride.  
And the Pony Man's the captain and the children are the crew.  
And we go in search of treasure and laugh the whole night through.  
  
And when the hold is filled with, golden sails begin to strain.  
And the decks piled high with apple pie, we head for port again.  
Then down the whirling star case, so swift our ponies glide.  
And we're safely in our beds again when the sunbeams kiss the sky.  
  
When it's midnight on the meadow and the cats are in the shed.  
And the river tells a story at the wind goes by my bed.  
If you listen very closely, be as quiet as you can.  
In the yard, you'll hear him, it is the Pony Man.  
  
**** **** **** 


End file.
